Congress Palace “Kursaal” [1] ( Basque. Kursaal jauregia , Spanish. Palacio de Congresos y Auditorio Kursaal ) - an architectural complex of buildings located in the city of Donostia San Sebastian ( Basque Country , Spain ) and consisting of a large auditorium, multi-purpose and showrooms. The palace was designed by the Spanish architect Rafael Moneo and opened in 1999 .
| Architectural complex | |
| Congress Palace "Kursaal" | |
|---|---|
| Basque. Kursaal jauregia Spanish Palacio de Congresos y Auditorio Kursaal | |
 | |
| A country |  Spain |
| City | Donostia San Sebastian |
| Type of building | Conference center |
| Project Author | Rafael Moneo |
| Architect | |
| Established | |
| Building | 1996 - 1999 |
| Site | kursaal.eus |
The Concert Hall of the Kursaal Palace of Congresses, with a capacity of 1800 seats, serves as the venue for the largest international film festival in Spain, the San Sebastian Film Festival , held since 1953 .
Content
History
Location: Site K
When the Grand Kursaal (an elegant palace built in 1921 and including a casino, restaurant, cinema, additional rooms and a theater with 859 seats) was demolished in 1973 , an empty land plot (later called Plot K) appeared. This territory was attractive enough for any construction, however, for a long time it remained undeveloped.
Unrealized projects
During the demolition of the old palace, a competition was held to replace it with a new project. However, the winning project was not implemented due to its complexity.
A new project was introduced in 1972. After several design changes, construction work began in 1975, but after perimeter walls were erected, all work was suspended. A piece of land passed from the hands of private owners (Gran-Kursaal was a private property) into public administration, so there was a need to create a public consortium to resolve the issue of the purpose of this plot.
Final Choice
After the 1972 project was rejected, it was decided to build a large audience on site K, consultations were held between 6 architects in 1989: Mario Botta , Norman Foster , Arata Isozaki , Rafael Moneo , Juan Navarro Baldeveg and Luis Peña Ganchegi . Among 6 projects, the Moneo option was chosen.
Start and end
After the project was approved in 1991-1994, construction work began in 1996 and did not end until 1999. During this period, a number of financing problems arose due to the fact that the Basque government (which contributed a total of 16% of the total project cost) refused to increase funding. After solving these problems, the work was completed in 1999.
Initially, the appearance of the new complex, contrasting with the local architectural background, was met with hostility by most citizens for this reason. In addition, the value of the complex (opened on August 23, 1999 by the concert of the Euskadi Symphony Orchestra and Ainhoa Arteta ) fell in the public eye in connection with the parallel construction of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao , whose cost was 2 times the price of the complex in San Sebastian. However, after the city felt the positive role of the new complex in the economic, tourist and cultural life of the city, the opinions of most of its residents changed to a positive attitude towards it.
Building
The palace complex mainly consists of 2 huge prisms of various sizes mounted on one platform. Each “cube” (as they are commonly called) is formed by an internal prismatic structure surrounded by double glass panels supported by a metal structure. Between the cubes is a large outdoor terrace overlooking Surriola Beach and the mouth of the Urumea River. This terrace hosts concerts of the Jazzaldia Jazz Festival and many other events.
- Kursaal Audience
Located in a large cube (and closest to the sea), this audience seats 1,800 spectators and serves as the venue for the largest events hosted by the complex. The front of the stalls can be converted into an upscene or into an orchestra pit.
- Meeting room
This room seats 600 people and is located in a small cube. It is used for conferences and small concerts.
- Multi-purpose halls
They are used for various events for limited audiences.
- Exhibition halls
Halls are used to host galleries and exhibitions.
- Kubo Hall
Exhibition Hall run by the Basque Savings Bank Kutxa .
Notes
- ↑ San Sebastian // Romania - Saint-Jean-de-Luz. - M .: Big Russian Encyclopedia, 2015. - P. 369. - ( Big Russian Encyclopedia : [in 35 vols.] / Ch. Ed. Yu. S. Osipov ; 2004—2017, vol. 29). - ISBN 978-5-85270-366-8 .