Solaridades stands out in three calls for architecture awards in Spain

The work, designed by María Auxiliadora Gálvez, has been recognized with an Honorable Mention at the COAM Awards within the “Ephemeral” category.

Solarities It continues to add to its accolades. The work, promoted by Concomitentes as part of Narrativas Solares, and designed by architect María Auxiliadora Gálvez, has been awarded Honor Mention at the COAM Awards in the COAM Award category “Ephemeral” and, recently, she has also been selected in the FAD Awards and the awards of Supreme Council of the Architects' Colleges of Spain (CSCAE).

These three recognitions focus on a project that understands architecture not only as a physical intervention in the territory, but also as a tool for generating spaces of participation, encounter, and collective construction.

To understand what makes it special Solarities, We must look beyond the awards: to the people who promoted it, to the territory in which it was born, and to the life it has found since its construction.

An open council with the sun

Solarities It is the result of the concomitance Solar narratives, Led by Alfredo Escapa Presa, the project arose in the face of the threat of installing a large-scale solar panel infrastructure in the La Sobarriba region in León, and the desire of the local residents to have spaces from which to participate in the decisions that affect the territory they inhabit.

In a context marked by the challenges of the energy transition, María Auxiliadora Gálvez’s proposal invites us to broaden our perspective on our relationship with the sun. Beyond its use as a source of energy, how can we relate to it through everyday life, culture, and natural cycles?

The answer takes shape in an open space for gathering, celebration, and dialogue. A place from which to share concerns, meet, and collectively think about the territory.

A space that the community makes its own

Since its creation, Solarities It has been acquiring new uses and meanings. The neighbors have gathered there, celebrated equinoxes and solstices and observed astronomical phenomena such as the eclipse together. Space has also hosted visits by schoolchildren, architecture students and other groups interested in learning about the experience.

These encounters show how an architectural intervention can transcend its material dimension. Solarities It is not just a structure: it is a place that is also built through the relationships, activities, and shared moments that take place there.

A living architecture, built at the rhythm of nature

The way it has been built Solarities It forms an essential part of their proposal. Over almost two years, the committee members met to gradually erect a part of the structure with live wood, which will grow to provide shade and transform the space over time.

The wooden structure was built by Gerardo Gorris. The ensemble is conceived as a living structure, open to transformation and linked to natural rhythms. Its evolution does not end with the construction: it continues with the growth of the vegetation and with the uses and care that the community dedicates to it.

In addition, its design as a solar observatory allows for direct experience of seasonal changes and for the equinoxes and solstices to be used as occasions for gathering and sharing knowledge.

Three awards for a different way of doing architecture

The selection of Solarities At the FAD Awards and the CSCAE Awards, along with its Honorary Mention at the COAM Prize, it gives visibility to an experience that connects architecture, citizen participation, and territory.

These recognitions are an opportunity to share a way of making architecture that is not limited to the design of an object, but incorporates collective processes, the needs of those who inhabit a place, and the relationships that are generated around it.

At Concomitentes, we celebrate this journey and congratulate the projects and professionals awarded in the COAM Awards.

Photos of PSAAP and of Raquel Santaolalla.