Master Plan of the Monastery of Sant Esteve de Banyoles

Master Plan of the Monastery of Sant Esteve de Banyoles

Funding entity

Ajuntament de Banyoles

Period of execution

01/11/2021-31/12/2022

Amount

€18,137.90

Researchers: Dr. Joaquim Nadal Farreras, Dr. Joan Bosch, Dr. Gemma Domènech, Dr. Saida Palou, Dr. Rosa Maria Gil and Marc Riera.

Description

The Master Plan is developed from the conviction that the interaction between the casket and the monastery, and that of the saint's relic and the monastery with the city are successive foundational pillars of the monastery and the city. The value of the monument and the proposed uses must strengthen and improve these links and must place the monastery and everything it represents at the very center of a cultured and modern reading of the future of Banyoles. The monastery of Sant Esteve de Banyoles occupies a central place in the imagination of the people of Banyoles but a peripheral place in the cultural and material reality. The monastery is the first reason for the city of Banyoles and the Master Plan must emphasize this inseparable relationship. The growth of the city has meant, until now, that the monastery has become eccentric with respect to the central axes articulated between the main square and the lake. The new General Plan grants a new role to the land located between the monastery and the Banyoles variant to the east of the city and future developments define a new centrality that must be ensured to materialize without deterioration of the monastery's immediate surroundings.
The reality of the monastery defines a set of historical buildings starting with the church and the monastic buildings and some open spaces within which other buildings of a subsidiary nature have been added but susceptible to being considered in the Master Plan.

The possible actions in the Monastery system revolve around two axes: an axis of rehabilitation and transformation of uses, with architectural and urban interventions, and an axis of a symbolic nature with an innovative discourse in order to reinforce the city's identity.