The town of Corbera d’Ebre in Tarragona, Spain was home to the ruins of a church dating back to the Spanish Civil War. While the ruined church was lovely to look at, it offered no usable space thanks to a crumbled roof and other unstable segments.
Ferran Vizoso Architects created a new roof for the building that gave it new life while preserving its historic presence. The roof is an enormous transparent skylight that fills the church’s interior with natural light.
It was very important to town officials to keep the historic look of the building intact. The goal was to strike a happy balance between history and the present, as well as between indoors and outdoors.
The huge skylight made the church into a usable community space but kept the feeling of being surrounded by historic ruins. That is, when you step inside, you feel that you are still partially outside.
The resulting interior is sophisticated and romantic. The sun streams down through the transparent ceiling while breezes and bird sounds permeate the interior of this exquisite Spanish church.