CDAN – Centro de Arte y Naturaleza

The building that houses the CDAN, created by architect Rafael Moneo Vallés, is conceived as a ‘wave-like, fluid form’ that dominates the scene, accompanied by a series of complementary structures that form a broken and fragmented perimeter of autonomous volumes. The building, somewhat baroque and free in style, draws on the notion of the unanticipated form that time gradually imposes on landscape, seen, for instance, in the Mallos de Riglos and the Salto de Roldán. These accidents of geography are significant features of Huesca’s landscape and provided a source of inspiration for the architect, who has sought not to interfere with the landscape but to integrate his work within it.
In addition to the way the building seems to sink into the ground, the materials it is made of aspire to mimic the materiality of the surroundings. The simplicity, texture and colour of the structure are intended to lead to this rapid assimilation of nature as the essence of architecture itself.
The building, seen as a living space that is open to the city of Huesca and visitors, seeks to create a space for art and nature. The site will ultimately include a building that will complete existing services, as well as the home, studio (designed by García de Paredes), and garden of José Beulas and Maria Sarrate, all annexed to the CDAN property — a set of autonomous structures that will constitute an extension of public space, a garden for the city.