© Iwan Baan / selgascano: © VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2018
© Iwan Baan / selgascano: © VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2018
© Frank Kaltenbach / selgascano: © VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2018
© Iwan Baan / selgascano: © VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2018
© Frank Kaltenbach / selgascano: © VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2018
© Iwan Baan / selgascano: © VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2018
© Frank Kaltenbach / selgascano: © VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2018
© Iwan Baan / selgascano: © VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2018
© Iwan Baan / selgascano: © VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2018
© Iwan Baan / selgascano: © VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2018
© selgascano / selgascano: © VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2018
© Frank Kaltenbach / selgascano: © VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2018
© Frank Kaltenbach / selgascano: © VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2018
© Frank Kaltenbach / selgascano: © VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2018
Twelve years after the competition, on the Way of St James between Seville and Salamanca, the ­congress centre in Plasencia has been opened. Only the two cathedrals and the bullfighting arena are of greater significance as public buildings there. The centre is meant to link the northernmost city of the Extremadura more closely with the swelling tourist boom in this structurally weak region.

From a distance, the enigmatic white luminous volume forms a striking feature outside the city, attracting ­curious visitors. The centre stands on a minimal plan area directly thrust into the protected bush ­landscape. This helped minimize the costs of eleborate foundations and made the low-budget project financially feasible.