Postextractivist Retreat: Thermal Leisure Centre in Sierra de la Culebra | Architecture Thesis

Site Context

On June 2, 2022, a catastrophic wildfire swept through much of Sierra de la Culebra, severely impacting its biodiversity. However, this event, while devastating, highlights deeper issues such as depopulation, climate change, and an outdated economic model, rather than serving as the root cause itself.

Situated on the southern edge of the fire, between the Aliste River and the mountain range, lies a slope with significant ecological potential, though hindered by the prevailing extractive model.

The abandoned Palazuelo de las Cuevas quarry, which lacks plans for renaturalization and has a disused transformation building, will be dismantled with its materials repurposed. The site, with its slate debris hill, fertile soil mound, and flooded quarry pit filled with hypermineralized aquifer water, presents an opportunity for a new vision.

The proposed project introduces a program with an emotional focus, aiming to create a thermal leisure center for those whose urban environments have failed to offer healthy, nurturing spaces. The design reimagines traditional programs by distinguishing between spaces that donate heat and those that absorb carbon, striving to achieve a nearly balanced global equilibrium.

Design Process

The design process for this project began with a thorough contextual analysis of Sierra de la Culebra, a region grappling with long-standing issues such as depopulation, environmental degradation, and economic decline. This research, supported by an academic article, provided a crucial foundation for understanding the area’s deep-rooted challenges, particularly in the wake of the devastating wildfire in 2022.

Instead of starting with predefined solutions, the design process emphasized exploration through hand-drawing as a way of thinking. This slow and reflective practice created room for uncertainty, imagination, and sensitivity—qualities often missing from conventional workflows. It sought to move beyond the standard frameworks that typically guide architectural responses, such as generic programs, materials, or construction methods, by proposing an alternative approach to architecture: one that listens, adapts, and responds deeply to its context.

The outcome is not merely a building but a process-driven proposal that reclaims architecture as a thoughtful, context-aware practice. It challenges prevailing paradigms by embracing the local, emotional, and ecological aspects, offering a new path where architecture serves as a means of healing landscapes and cultivating more connected ways of living.

Final Outcome

The project advocates for a shift toward techniques and materials that challenge conventional practices, driven by a thermodynamic materialism that redefines both design and consumption. At its core, it champions affective sustainability, not just offering solutions but setting a foundational guideline for the profession, demonstrating that a more sensitive and connected way of living is achievable.

The thermal leisure center offers a unique program that begins below the upper floor, accessible via ramps and elevators. The upper floor is designed to regulate flows between the two floors, creating an interstitial space. The center’s itinerary culminates in a social interaction space on the upper floor, including a workshop room with coworking space, workshop space, and a day center. A kitchen is also provided to meet the need for social interaction spaces in the region due to the closure of local bars and restaurants.

The design unfolds through three main elements: the spine, the shell, and the basin. These components work together to resolve complexity while creating a sensory journey. The spine organizes the program in a linear sequence, with its rammed earth wall radiating warmth to guide movement. The shells define the program’s specific functions, while the basins, shaped into the slate bedrock, create a deep connection between water and the human body. Featuring cold, warm, and hot zones, these spaces extend beyond mere accessibility, encouraging physical interaction by subtly resisting movement, ensuring that accessibility is dynamic and fostering vitality rather than just convenience.

The Armintero stream, which is typically dry, can sometimes reach 1.5 meters. To prevent erosion and flooding, a floodable garden was created, allowing water to infiltrate the aquifer. The garden features terraces at different levels and finishes, such as slate chip paving, slate waste dumps, or fertile soil, with filter areas made of crushed slate chips.

This approach reimagines architecture as a dynamic system rather than a static solution, with each element designed in harmony. Architecture becomes a living entity—breathing, adapting, and attuned to its environment. The project is committed to carbon responsibility, rejecting cement and virgin materials while experimenting with alternative construction techniques that redefine foundations and building envelopes.

Beyond functionality, the project optimizes resources through a self-sustaining water management system and harnesses the energy potential of waste via a biodigester, turning discarded materials into valuable resources. Despite the carbon emissions associated with construction and its lifecycle, the project achieves carbon negativity within 15 years, proving that architecture can restore rather than deplete. More than just a proposal, it is a manifesto—an urgent call to redefine design as a driver for social and ecological transformation, envisioning a future where human habitation and environmental stewardship exist in seamless harmony.

Conclusion: This project redefines architecture as a responsive, regenerative act that respects context, embraces ecological responsibility, and promotes emotional and physical well-being. It challenges conventional materials and methods, proposing a new architectural language rooted in care, resilience, and connection.

[This Academic Project has been published with text and images submitted by the student]