In Melilla, a Spanish city on the northern coast of Africa bordering Morocco, the closure of the Central Market in 2003 left a once-thriving area in disuse. A competition launched in 2008 proposed relocating three educational institutions to the site, transforming it into a “social catalyst” to reunite and integrate the city’s multicultural communities (mainly Christians, Muslims, and Jews). The vertical expansion of new structures was achieved without overloading the old market’s foundations.

A lightweight intervention was introduced, using local materials adapted to the climate: ventilated ceramic façades and a gradient-based latticework (aluminum and ceramic joints) varying by orientation.