Escuelas Pías is an excellent example of how the remains of an old building can be made into a useful space by means of modern architecture.
At present, it houses Centro Asociado de la Uned ( the Open University ) as well as the university library. The restoration was finished in 2004 and you can still see the remains of the old church. Today, in our section “Restoring”, the present and the past of Escuelas Pías will be dealt with. Weeks ago, we wrote about Mercado de San Miguel which also underwent an important restoration.
A LIBRARY, A LECTURE ROOM, A CONVENT
Escuelas Pías is located in Tribulete Street which is in the old part of Madrid. This restored building was declared a Property of Cultural Interest in 1996.
The library of the Open University and the Lecture Room coexist with the remains of Iglesia de las Escuelas Pías de San Fernando and its school.
That school was once one of the most important in Madrid because 2.300 pupils were registered and it also had a special class for deaf and dumb students, a fact which was unusual at that time. In the Spanish Civil War, both buildings were burnt and hence, part of the structure was lost forever.
AN APPROPRIATE RESTORATION
We believe that the restoration of Escuelas Pías is one of the best regarding a historic building. When the modern library and the lecture room were built, the remains of the old buildings were conserved. Therefore, the architecture varies and coexists making the space very interesting and full of contrasts.
Currently, modernity and history are linked creating a beautiful scene. Behind Escuelas Pías, we can see a newly refurbished “Corrala” with a typical Madrileño flavour. In Escuelas Pías we must highlight the flight of stairs which join the old part of the building to the modern part. It is fantastic to see how the building materials, wood and brick, coexist wonderfully with the old structure. When the project was designed, it was essential to integrate the new architecture into the old one.
The end result was stunning. Nowadays, it is a delight to walk around the library and the lecture room and see how the past and the present occupy the same building. Last but not least, we can enjoy an impressive terrace in the top part of the building from where we have a panoramic view of the rooftops of the area.
Picture 03: Ricardo Ricote
Pictures 06 and 08: R2hox
Picture 07: UNED