Five Miradors
the ground, time, sound, sky, and ocean
Type: Heritage Lookout
Status: Schematic Design
Location: Bataria do Azivial, Spain
Team: Kyungsik Kim, Jongwan Kwon
Bataria do Azivial is currently a place with hidden wonders of various historical layers. After going through a series of physical changes over a long period, the place carries multiple identities that overlap: power and vulnerability; landmark and landscape; past and present; construction and weathering; and material and immaterial. The project considers these overlapping identities by rethinking the mirador—a lookout point that creates a special relationship with the surrounding through a spatial construct.
Five Miradors connects two remaining ruins of the Zavial Battery through a multi-sensual journey that guides visitors from one ruin to another. Five different enclosed spaces—miradors that engage with a particular element of the place, such as the ground, time, sound, sky, and ocean—are interconnected along the gentle slope. The unique spatial effects from each element are reinforced through the adoption of primitive architecture typologies that are composed of stratified concrete.
The sequential journey of miradors begins by entering into a low wall structure that encases the ruins of a historical quarter building and the natural landscape. The second mirador exhibits the time of the place on a series of walls that create a porous enclosure from its gaps. While walking along with the overlaps between the interior and exterior environment, one could explore the critical historical trajectories from the information engraved on the walls. After descending the steps, the dark vaulted space of the forth mirador appears and fosters an immersive sonic experience through the reverberation of heavy waves hitting the rockscape. The fourth mirador redirects one’s experience from acoustic to visual by presenting an aperture to look up towards the sky and feel the air that surrounds the space. After taking a brief pause on a bench, one can finally encounter the ruins of the Zavial Battery at the fifth mirador. The suspended roof frames the juxtaposed view of an old ruin and the context beyond as a magnificent panoramic view of the Atlantic Ocean. At this final stop, one could reflect upon the distinct spatial experience from each mirador and imagine the overlapping history of the place. The journey of five miradors meets an end by turning oneself around the corner to continue the pathway along the cliff.