La Llotja theatre and conference centre

The mountain with its historic cathedral Seu Vella and the Segre River marks the high point and low point of Lleida (Lerida), the second city of Catolonia, following Barcelona. 'Palau de Congressos La Llotja' sits on the banks of the Segre, somewhat outside the centre of the city. Mecanoo’s design interprets the landscape of Lleida as the exciting scenery before which the building has been placed, somewhat further from the river. The mise-en-scène is elaborated on three levels of scale. Regarded from the large scale of the region, the building forms a link between the river and the mountain. Viewed from the urban scale, La Llotja and the river form a balanced composition. At street level the cantilevers of La Llotja de Lleida provide protection from sun and rain. The large stone edifice seems to have sprouted from the Spanish earth. The building’s horizontal form provides a large garden on the roof.