Fundación EDPNews

The central concept of the winning idea is a reinterpretation of the elevated storage "hórreo" typical of Asturias, in view of its importance in the locality of Ribera de Arriba. The EDP Foundation's ‘Public Art’ project seeks an artistic project by students combining art and architectural design to transform the territory. The first round of the project, in 2020, focused on the Asturias "concejo" of Ribera de Arriba with a proposal for 3 lines of work. Line C, presented today, concerned work on the Prieto family seat in Bueño and its areas of greenery to turn it into a polyvalent cultural space.

The innovation, creativity and enthusiasm of the project submitted by a team of architects, Marta Molins Laín, Jorge Abad Martínez, Diego Catena Nieto and Claudia Gadea Milián, from the University of Zaragoza, garnered them Line C of the 2020 Public Art Competition, which brought in 33 submissions by 59 participants from 20 universities in Spain.

The future cultural facility at Bueño, more than 3,000 m2, is composed of a large overhead roof which seems to float above the ground. The design features a polyvalent space under the roof, with an external stage above.

The students responsible for the project, who have now graduated, claim that "the idea generating the project is the creation of an Artistic Centre in Bueño, a polyvalent space for art and culture in a unique ethnographic environment".

To quote the EDP Foundation's Executive Director, Vanda Martins, "this project boosts one of our main commitments, to play an active role in communities through local development. The implementation of a theoretical project in a practical, tangible reality for the community is also a source of learning and essential professional experience for students".

The town's mayor, Tomás Fernández, points out that "Public Art" is ongoing, and the winners of Line B - Ferreros - are now knocking at the door to make a start on the process we're talking about now".

Work is scheduled to begin in early 2022, to enable Bueño's new cultural facility to be opened in the last quarter of the same year.

The EDP Foundation believes it is vital to maintain links to territories in which EDP operates, involving the local community and spearheading development to transform these locations. It also constitutes a chance for young creators all over Spain to have their first major project built as a legacy that will remain in the territory.

Social inclusion, culture and education are three of the EDP Foundation's key focuses, to help build a society with more prospects for integration and a better future. "Public Art" is an instrument to foster social inclusion, a space for dialogue, collaboration and the construction of an environment to innovate and generate social value in the rural environment.