AQSO arquitectos office. The auditorium has an undulating shape, the white concrete façade forms a balcony over the main entrance facing the square. It is an organic, futuristic design that blends into the vegetation of the urban park.

The Folded Auditorium develops in a single volume, optimising the plot and integrating the surrounding urban park. The structure unfolds in four interconnected levels, enveloped by its characteristic skin of wavy surfaces.

Luis Aguirre
Sergio Blanco
Xiao Pu Liu
Antonio Losa
James Tendayi Matsuku
Razvan Brezoianu

Building area: 31200 sqm
Location: Alhama de Murcia, Spain
Client: Alhama de Murcia city council

AQSO arquitectos office. Model of the auditorium with the curved roof. It is made of wood and aluminium, with a futuristic and organic design.

This auditorium and theatre arise in Alhama de Murcia, a town of south-western Spain. The project stems from the need to carve a public facility in an area surrounded by a large urban park. The structure extends to the southern border of the square and opens northward, realising a public plaza conveniently connected with the street and the gardens. The building’s exteriors reflect its internal distribution, where public and private spaces are effectively defined.

AQSO arquitectos office, folded auditorium, black seating, side view, wrapping timber system, acoustic walls, wooden shell, overlapping planes, amazing design
AQSO arquitectos office. The floor plan of the auditorium shows the access points, the loading area, the stage, the main foyer, the cafeteria, an administrative area and the orchestra pit in the basement.

The stage of the auditorium is placed at the rear of this plot. The scope is to avoid excessive intrusion of the machinery in the square and to provide a wide loading area at the back. The building displays its public profile facing the square, whereas the access to the auditorium, on the first floor, becomes a wide viewpoint functioning as a foyer.
The subsequent circulation and height variation become the means determining the auditorium’s profile, as it is wrapped up in its wavy surface. Such formal language reveals how the building’s look alludes to its real function.

AQSO arquitectos office. A bird's eye view shows the sinuous shape of the auditorium roof. This white concrete building has a folded shape that contrasts with the vegetation of the urban park.
AQSO arquitectos office. The auditorium section shows the appearance of the concert hall, the acoustic ceiling, the fly loft, the stage, the stalls and the orchestra pit. All this is wrapped in a corrugated skin of white concrete.

The special relationship with the environment is particularly evident at the entrance level. Here an open, transparent space extends beyond the structure’s borders, invading the nearest contexts and turning the delicate slope into an element of the landscape.

AQSO arquitectos office, entrance lobby, fixed furniture, lounge area, garden, transparency, concrete ceiling, dark timber, public space, reception, auditorium, vertical garden, outdoor terrace
AQSO arquitectos office. Suspended staircase, waiting area, glazing, structural v column, suspended concrete slab, metal cable, concrete floor, foyer, auditorium lobby, vertical garden

The main entrance presents a curved wall protruding toward the street in a welcoming gesture, while the square’s pavement and green areas are arranged in a radial pattern.

AQSO arquitectos office. Folded auditorium, interior design, acoustic walls, piano on stage, timber shell, illuminated stairs, comfy stalls, neat design, amazing interior, cool design
aqso arquitectos office, folded auditorium, illumination ceiling like stars, timber shell, overlapping wooden wrap, acoustic ceiling, stage view, emergency exits

The horizontal layout always maintains a distinction between the public area located in the North side, and the private one in the South side. The structure’s four levels (basement, ground floor, foyer and stage machinery) are linked together by the wavy surfaces that wrap up the building and function as circulation ramps within.