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Reimagining the relationship between contemporary communities and historical material and immaterial heritage
G.M.C. den Butter (TU Delft - Architecture and the Built Environment)
AS Alkan – Mentor (TU Delft - Theory, Territories & Transitions)
R. Cavallo – Mentor (TU Delft - Theory, Territories & Transitions)
H.F. Eckardt – Mentor (TU Delft - Teachers of Practice / AE+T)
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Abstract
This paper investigates how historical models of communal architecture—such as the Corralas and Corrales de Comedias—can inform contemporary approaches to urban regeneration through a spatial understanding grounded in social interaction and transformation. Drawing on the theories of Henri Lefebvre, Richard Sennett, Rafael Moneo, Aldo Rossi, Jan Gehl, Jane Jacobs, and Kevin Lynch, the research explores how architecture operates as a living, performative framework shaped by everyday use, memory, and collective presence. These insights converge in the case of La Galera in Alcalá de Henares, a disused women’s prison marked by complex historical layers. Here, the project embraces the transformative potential of adaptive reuse—not by replicating historical forms, but by translating their spatial intelligence into contemporary design strategies. Ultimately, the work positions communal space as a platform for social negotiation and urban continuity—where memory and use shape new architectural possibilities.