Functional adaptation of the Monastery of San Millán de la Cogolla. La Rioja, Spain

Abstract

In 1985 the Department of Tourism of the Autonomous Community of La Rioja took the initiative of reviving the San Millán monastery, considered to be the most emblematic monument of La Rioja, by reforming it to become a pilgrims' refuge. During the studies the idea of a more ambitious intervention was born and eventually what was proposed was the creation of a hostelry. "At the same time, another part of the monastery was also meant to be used as a "Permanent Lecture Room of the Spanish Language". The greatest difficulty of this approach lay in the necessity to carry out the programs coping with the limitations of the existing building and the problem of conservation of its configuration and its exterior volume. This resulted in the necessity to reduce certain Services to the minimum. The criterion followed was the one of consolidation and reconstruction, with the greatest possible similarity to the original look of this part of the monastery, by trying to copy the constructive Solutions and formal aspects of the rest of the monastery through their re-interpretation. All this was performed in accordance with the current availability of the craftsmen as well as resources which were scarce if we bear in mind the scope of the works.