The new Fish Market of the Santander Harbour was conceived as a singular building due to its privileged location in the main access to the Cantabria capital. This marvellous construction can be contemplated by all the users of the south entrance to the city.
Structurally, it was designed as a free-standing building, without interior columns, where its roof, made with concrete, gives to this construction its characteristic essence and personality.
This is a building in which the structure, the roof, and the skin are unified in the same thing, that, despite of its complex geometry, it could be easily understood, not only from outside, but also from inside. It is a simple building in its plan and uses, which resolves the structure and the enclosure system in an equally natural form.
With a 115x30 meters rectangular plan view, and 7.5 meters of cantilevers, the new fish market has become an important element in the city landscape. The roof is formed by 23 prestressed-concrete shells with double curvature acting as bowstring arches. The parabolic forms create interesting interior volumes, used as offices whose concrete hangs from the roof though prestressed cables, with the aim of avoiding visual obstacles in the lower floor. The fish market construction procedure was modular, so the formworks and other constructive elements can be reused, improving the timings and costs.
Owner: Autoridad Portuaria de Santander
Project: Juan José Arenas(A&A) and A. Valdés
Surface: 5769 m2. Vault: 44.4 x 5.04 m. Height: 12 m
Contractor: Necso
Arenas & Asociados’ Role: Complete project developer
