The palatial city of
Madinat al-Zahra dates back to the 10th century, and is considered one of the most important archaeological sites of the birth of Islam, and is definitely Europe’s biggest and most important archaeological dig. In this context the museum complex designed by
Nieto Sobejano fits perfectly into the site and its surrounding environment. Divided into a succession of rectangular spaces made up of walls, patios and rows of trees, the museum is more of a landscape than a building. The
project is a path of discovery, in which visitors are guided through a succession of full and empty, covered and open spaces. The central nodes in the composition are the internal patios, based on the typical forms of the archaeological site and of the ancient city of
Cordoba. The materials chosen to cover the surfaces recall the containing walls and temporary structures typical of archaeological sites.
by Agnese BifulcoDesign: Nieto Sobejano Arquitectos, Fuensanta Nieto & Enrique Sobejano
Location: Cordoba, Spain
Photographs: Aga Khan Award for Architecture, Fernando Alda, Melissa Walsh, Maximillian Jacobson-Gonzalez, Cemal Emden
www.nietosobejano.com