Client: ONUTPEN 2018 S.L. through EDM ARCHITECTURE.
Location: Lavandera, parish of San Juan de Celles – Concejo de Siero (Asturias).
Dates: 2023 – 2024
Area: Environmental assessment and biodiversity
This project focused on the drafting of a Special Plan and an Implantation Study for the Torre de Celles Palace, located in Siero, with the aim of establishing an appropriate urban planning for this heritage property, establishing criteria for the protection and enrichment of the historical and cultural property, allowing actions that stimulate its conservation and, consequently, allow its enjoyment and facilitate its enhancement.
In addition, it seeks to promote an expropriation procedure, of joint appraisal, in line with the above, motivated by the recommendation of the Cultural Heritage Council of the Principality of Asturias.
The commission was promoted by the company ONUTPEN 2018 S.L. through EDM ARQUITECTURA and was aimed at both the protection of the historical complex and the revitalization of its public and social use.
The document contemplates the implementation of cultural, social and lodging uses linked to the rural and heritage environment. These include exhibitions, concerts, conventions, celebrations, overnight stays and other auxiliary services such as parking and warehouses. These actions are intended to ensure the viability of the architectural complex and its functional and landscape integration in the rural center of Lavandera.
What have been the main challenges?
The main challenge was to reconcile the objectives of heritage conservation with the incorporation of new uses in a space of special architectural value such as the Torre de Celles Palace, a unique example of Asturian rural baroque architecture. The modernity of its design and the sculptural quality of its façade, unusual in its rural environment, required an intervention strategy that would guarantee its integrity and promote its socio-cultural activation.
Another important challenge was to adapt the proposal to the regulatory determinations in undeveloped land, guaranteeing both legality and the maximum level of protection, especially in view of the recommendations of the Cultural Heritage Council of the Principality of Asturias.
What did we do from TAXUS MEDIO AMBIENTE?
The Environmental Assessment and Biodiversity area of TAXUS MEDIO AMBIENTE coordinated the drafting of the Plan and the Implementation Study, incorporating criteria of territorial sustainability, cultural management and heritage conservation.
The work was divided into different phases, including the following administrative milestones:
- April 2023: Presentation of the Special Plan, the Implementation Study and its Strategic Environmental Document.
- December 2023: Issuance of the strategic environmental report by the Ministry of Ecological Transition, Industry and Economic Development.
- June 2024: Favorable approval of the Plan by the Permanent Commission of the Cultural Heritage Council of Asturias.
- November 2024: Final approval by the City Council of Siero.
What have been the key results?
The most outstanding result was the consolidation of the Palace as an active and protected space, articulated around a program of uses with cultural and social value. The project was officially approved by the regional and local authorities and is now in the execution phase. It has become an example of intervention on rural heritage with a multifunctional and sustainable approach.
The scope of the project has been reported in regional media, such as eldiario.es and La Nueva España, as well as in the official website of the Siero City Council(ayto-siero.es), where the progress of the actions is shown.
This project highlights the value of strategic planning aimed at protecting the rural architectural heritage through viable and sustainable formulas of use, contributing to local development and the cultural dynamization of the territory.