A Climate Refuge for Infinito Delicias

In the summer of 2026, Infinito Delicias opened its doors as a Climate Refuge for the Delicias neighbourhood and the Arganzuela district. It is an air-conditioned space, open to all and with no fixed programme, conceived as a community facility: a place to meet, rest, work, read, play or simply spend time during the hottest months of the year. Greenery plays a central role: the complex is conceived as an indoor garden where plants act as a living infrastructure capable of structuring the space, creating distinct atmospheres and contributing to the thermal comfort and environmental quality of the refuge.

This participatory project continues the long-term work that Zuloark, through Ultrazul, has been carrying out with Infinito Delicias for years. Rather than simply considering the building’s physical form, we considered how its content and programme might respond to the desire to create a new kind of cultural institution that connects with its surroundings. The Climate Refuge thus represents a new approach to creating spaces within public institutions, demanding new ways of thinking, designing and inhabiting.

The building material: the philosophy of second lives

The Climate Refuge consists mainly of a modular, circular wooden structure assembled on site. The timber used has had several previous lives. It was first used as building material, left over from the construction of the Infinito Delicias building itself. When it came to designing the Refugio, this stock of timber served as the starting point: the structure was designed based on what already existed, not the other way round. Later, some of the planks were transformed into tables for a gastronomic gathering. And at the end of the event, rather than being discarded, they were stored away for future use. In this way, the construction of architecture is understood as an active social and material process connected to its immediate surroundings.

Un cantiere aperto: inhabiting the space whilst it is under construction

Many hands are involved in the creation of the Refugio. Zuloark designs the structure and the strategy that enables many more stakeholders to participate in the process. Students and lecturers from the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá are building part of the furniture (the shoe rack, the bookcase, the tables and the centrepiece). The Italian collective Incolto leads workshops on communication and collaborative signage so that the Refugio can express, through the voice of the neighbourhood, Delicias’ relationship with heat and with shared space. And some local residents, throughout the process, contribute their views and help with the design and construction. The main idea is that those who will inhabit the space can also participate in its construction.

Holiday plants: where Vivario’s greenery comes from

This place also aims to become a small hub for neighbourhood renaturalisation. Since its first weeks of operation, it has had a plant nursery run by Infinito Delicias and a system for producing cuttings, with the aim of ensuring that, by the end of the summer, there are more plants than there were at the start.

The project also has the support of the Environment Department of Madrid City Council and the collaboration of the Retiro Greenhouse Nursery, which provides some of the vegetation. As with the materials, the plants continue their journey beyond the summer, being incorporated into new neighbourhood urban gardening initiatives.

Back to the beginning: the refuge’s fourth life

At the end of summer, when the shelter closes, the timber is stored away and the plants are moved to a new home. The planks from the structure will be turned into furniture for neighbourhood gardens in the Moratalaz district, and the plants will help to renaturalise those very same gardens. Once again, the aim is to give all the materials a new lease of life. The cycle continues.

La entrada Infinite Refuge se publicó primero en zuloark.

An adaptable home

Casa Mintacá is a housing project designed to be inhabited by a family of four people and a cat, located on a plot surrounded by nature in Guasca, Cundinamarca, Colombia. The house is located in an area of isolated houses with large natural plots and is surrounded by hills that define the landscape and views of the area. The climate is relatively cold, so the house addresses issues of space adaptation according to the uses and different times of the day and season.

Composition and versatility

The house is composed of three solid isolated volumes joined by a large cover that generates an open central space, closed by a large glass wall that allows capturing heat with the afternoon sun. Since its first use, the house and its uses have been changing, without hierarchies in the central space, which gives it good versatility and the ability to adapt to different forms, configurations, and vital needs of its inhabitants.

Environment, landscape and nature 

An important earthmoving operation is carried out on the land to collect water and create different areas in the garden, as well as to open and close views. The relationship with the landscape is fundamental, turning the house into a landscaping operation where the garden literally enters the volumes of the house and there are always cross views in relation to the environment.

Bioclimatic, affordable and natural construction

Different climatic zones are established within the house according to privacy, thanks to the greenhouse and the boxes. Despite being in a cold area, where temperatures can drop to 0 degrees some nights, it has not been necessary to install heating, and the fireplace is used on a few occasions. The bioclimatic design allows taking advantage of the heat stored with the greenhouse. Simple geometries and local and simple materials make the space complex, rich, and with many possibilities of use, complying with high climatic, versatility of use, and spatial qualities.

A home for life: meeting, growth and adaptability

The house is designed to be a space for family gathering and adaptability. In addition, creativity is promoted in children, who discover places to grow and explore in spaces that were not originally designed for them. The direct families of Juana and Federico have found in Casa Mintacá a home where they can restructure the time they spend visiting family and sharing moments. In addition, the non-human members of the family have turned the house into a space of their own and very usable.

La entrada Casa Mintacá se publicó primero en zuloark.

Refurbishment of the Pego Municipal Theatre

The project for the refurbishment of the Pego Municipal Theatre is conceived as an architectural choreography in six acts, in which each intervention dialogues with the past and projects itself into the future. More than a simple refurbishment, it is a cultural gesture that renews the role of the theatre as a living, accessible and transformative place in the heart of the municipality.

The design is based on actively listening to the building’s history, respecting the identity of its original façade and reimagining it with contemporary and sustainable materials. From a large and luminous foyer that visually connects all the floors, to an auditorium with telescopic bleachers that allow flexible uses of the space, each decision is committed to habitability, inclusion and cultural versatility.

The intervention transcends the stage walls: the roof becomes a new meeting place, open to events, summer cinema or open-air rehearsals. The theatre thus opens up to the city, functioning as an elevated plaza for community gatherings.

Sustainability and proximity guide the entire project. The laminated wood structure, the natural insulation, the green roof, the recovery of rainwater and the integration of renewable energies define an energy class A building, efficient and committed to its environment. The architecture not only houses functions, but also amplifies meanings: every material and every form is designed to welcome the cultural life of Pego with warmth, care and projection.

This project not only rehabilitates a theatre: it reactivates a symbolic space and places it at the service of a diverse and creative community. An architecture that, like the stage, transforms, moves and remains.

ACT I – A historic façade

The symbolic value of the theatre’s original façade is recovered, reconstructing it with contemporary materials that respect its memory and are committed to sustainability.

ACT II – A tailor-made entrance

The entrance is transformed into a large open-plan space, with natural ventilation and zenithal light, visually connecting all the floors and welcoming the public as a true public foyer.

ACT III – Seating that adapts to the function

Telescopic seating is incorporated into a mezzanine to transform the main hall: it can be used as an auditorium or as a bright, open rehearsal room as required.

ACT IV – What happens behind the curtain

 The technical and support spaces are efficiently reorganised: dressing rooms, rehearsal rooms, offices and storerooms are located backstage, optimising the use of the available volume.

ACT V – The inhabited roof

The roof is activated as a public space, integrating a cafeteria and a terrace for open-air cultural events, accessible from the foyer and open to the city.

ACT VI – As a stage, the city

The theatre is conceived as a flexible urban infrastructure that opens up to its surroundings, becoming a living space, capable of adapting to the cultural and social needs of Pego.

La entrada A project in six acts se publicó primero en zuloark.

A stand that transforms into a canopy for the school garden at República de Panamá Public School

Since 2012, we have collaborated with Madrid City Council to design its stand for the National Environmental Congress. Each year, the challenge is to make the pavilion an example of sustainability, where its real purpose lies in the second life it is given after the exhibition.

On this occasion, we worked together with the community of República de Panamá Public School in Madrid, where the structure was relocated to the school playground, creating a shaded area, an amphitheatre, an outdoor classroom, and an extension of the existing school garden.

The design reuses materials sourced from Madrid’s municipal storage facilities: damaged traffic signs, bricks and concrete blocks from the Municipal Stonemasonry Workshop, plants from the Retiro Greenhouse Nursery, mulch from the Migas Calientes plant, logistical support from the Huerto del Retiro Environmental Information and Education Centre, as well as municipal transport services.

After the exhibition, together with the Environmental Education Department, we transformed the stand into an outdoor classroom in the playground of República de Panamá School, reusing it as part of the school’s playground renaturalisation strategy. During the inauguration, a workshop was also held with illustrator David Cárdenas to design and paint the ground around the installation, incorporating representations of native flora and fauna.

Traffic sign poles from the municipal storage facilities support lightweight canvas shades that provide shelter from the sun. The shade cast by the existing trees in the school grounds is also used to make the space more comfortable and habitable throughout the year.

The whole intervention was conceived as an adaptable and flexible system of furniture: an outdoor classroom with two planters, a wooden tiered seating area, and a space for gathering. Together with the shaded areas created, these elements make up the open-air classroom, which can be complemented with movable items typical of any learning space, such as blackboards or chairs.

The native plants from the municipal nurseries not only bring vegetation into the outdoor classroom, but also support educational activities connected to nature, such as observing pollinating insects and caring for the school garden.

Its implementation and use are managed participatively by the teaching staff in coordination with the school community, ensuring its upkeep while fostering a sense of ownership among pupils. It is a pilot project to rethink educational spaces and make use of resources already available in the city to improve school environments, designed with replication in other schools in mind.

La entrada CONAMA 24 se publicó primero en zuloark.

Renovation of an apartment in Via Caserma, Sestola (MO)

At the foot of Monte Cimone, in the heart of the Modenese Apennines, the village of Sestola preserves a dense historical landscape of layers. There, between the bell tower of the main church and the medieval fortress, stands one of the oldest buildings in the area: a building that was first a prison, then a barracks, then a hotel and finally a residence. This succession of functions and transformations has left a deep imprint on the built material, a collective narrative made of sandstone, thick walls, contained openings and inhabited memories.

The renovation of the flat on the first floor confronts this complexity with an attentive and receptive gaze. The project is based on the idea that all architecture can – and must – learn. Learning from history and its traces, from the natural and urban context, from the people who inhabit and transform spaces, and from those who design and build them with knowledge and care. In this case, the work has been carried out in close collaboration with local craftsmen, who have an in-depth knowledge of the type of construction and the materials of the territory. This link with local knowledge has become a fundamental part of the project’s approach.

The new interior design enhances the character of the existing building, without trying to restore an idealised past, but rather making the transformations visible through precise interventions and the use of materials in contrast with the original context. The kitchen – the distribution core of the home – separates the day area, which faces east and opens onto the Scoltenna valley, from the night area, which faces the old town. Two skylights have been introduced to allow natural light to penetrate the innermost part of the house, overcoming the limitations of medieval constructions and making the most of every opportunity for light and the eye to pass through the space.

The existing openings in the load-bearing walls have been recovered as functional and poetic passages: a niche for the washbasin in the bathroom, a shelf in the bedroom, a serving hatch between the kitchen and the living room. A section of stone wall has been brought back into view in the living room as a gesture of revelation and a material testimony of time.

This house, like many of the buildings in the Apennines, is not only a habitable interior, but a threshold between different times: it protects the natural and cultural landscape and at the same time transforms it into new ways of living. In this sense, the project is also an exercise in attention and listening, a search for continuity between contemporary living and the memory of the place. A small gesture of care that demonstrates how architecture can be a tool for learning – and restoring – meaning and value to places.

La entrada Sestola House se publicó primero en zuloark.

Wool, Beer, and Wild Woods: Rethinking Territorial Regeneration Through Design

Bilbao BBK Live is a renowned music festival held annually on Mount Kobetamendi in Bilbao, a privileged natural setting that welcomes over one hundred thousand people and features up to 12 stages.

Since 2015, Zuloark has been collaborating with Last Tour to design the festival’s scenographies, always seeking new ways to implement sustainable materials and processes to create unique spaces.

For the 2024 edition, we are taking a step further in rethinking how stages can not only reduce their environmental impact but also become drivers of territorial regeneration, working alongside artists, artisans, biomaterial producers, and carpenters from the Bilbao region.

A Wool Jacket for Txiki

For the design of the Txiki stage, we collaborated with Mutur Beltz, a local cooperative that works with wool from native sheep of the Carranza Valley in Vizcaya. This is an underutilized material, often considered waste, for which this initiative seeks new applications.

We proposed a modular solution using frames made of jute and knotted wool. This way, the wool does not need to be processed and can be reused later.

With this system, we built a stage using a natural, locally sourced material, where artists like Mulatu Astatke, Mujeres, and Shygirl performed. This initiative supports the preservation of native sheep breeds and traditional shepherding practices.

A Beer Stage for a Beer Brand

At San Miguel, a stage sponsored by the namesake brand, we took on the challenge of building a stage for a beer brand using… beer. More precisely, waste from the beer industry.

Bagasse is a byproduct that makes up 85 percent of the waste generated in the production of this beverage. To give it a new purpose, we collaborated with Mad Materials, a project dedicated to innovation and the development of biomaterials.

With them, we designed a system of bio-canvas scales made from bagasse and algae, attached to vertical load straps. Each scale was individually crafted, covering a surface of nearly 100 m²—forming a skin-like texture reminiscent of snakes and serpents from local mythology.

The Wild Woods Return

This year, the “wild woods” couldn’t be left out—a decorative approach in which we reuse wood from previous editions and festivals to create new designs and construction solutions year after year.

Together with local carpenters and suppliers, we designed a geometric system based on basic wooden profiles. This design allows the wood to be transformed and reused in a completely new way each year. The system is applied both to the access portico—a tunnel that welcomed thousands of visitors daily—and to the main stage, Nagusia.

The scenographies of Bilbao BBK Live 2024 thus become a space for collaboration with artisans, innovators, and local materials, demonstrating how design can drive territorial regeneration.

La entrada Bilbao BBK Live 2024 se publicó primero en zuloark.

La Verbena de la Paloma: fiesta, worship and zarzuela

In the context of Spain’s representation at the Prague Quadrennial in 2023, the exhibition ‘La Verbena de la Paloma: fiesta, worship and zarzuela’, presented at the Cervantes Institute in Prague, was designed.

A verbena is a popular festival in a neighbourhood or locality, usually associated with a patron saint. In the case of the Verbena de la Paloma, it honours the Virgen de la Paloma, the popular patron saint of Madrid, and people take to the streets dressed as chulapas and chulapos to the rhythm of chotis in a great celebration of the common imaginary. This exhibition, which brings together elements of the verbena itself as well as the Zarzuela inspired by it, aims to bring the public closer to the streets of Madrid and recreate the festive atmosphere of August nights in the city. 

The space is structured in three parts, as well as the guiding thread of the exhibition: temple, street and theater. The temple has a circular shape, crowned by ribbons that refer to the crown of the Virgen de la Paloma, giving the space a more sacred connotation. In the street, the religious iconography of the Virgen de la Paloma is interwoven with the theatrical and musical evocation of the characters of the Zarzuela. This is made up of two lines of panels that can be traversed on both sides, giving rise to different scenes, such as the projection of a film or the discovery of an old pianola. The crowning of the panels on the street alludes to the triangular shawl decoration of the balconies of Madrid. 

Finally, the theater crowns the end of the street with its decorative façade, in the style of the Teatro de la Zarzuela in Madrid. The presence of two old seats invites you to sit down to watch and listen to scenes from the zarzuela Verbena de la Paloma, after having walked around the stage full of record covers, photos by Martín Santos Yubero, writings by Tomás Bretón and Ricardo de la Vega and costumes and Manila shawls. The entire exhibition space is accompanied by musical offerings that help to recreate this celebratory scene. The gaze of the illustrator Cristina Daura re-imagines the iconography of the verbena and closes the exhibition.

The project thus invites people to discover this Spanish cultural legacy that fills our public spaces with richness. The echo of this celebration has also reached the International Classical Theatre Festival of Almagro, in Ciudad Real, after the end of the Quadrennial. 

La entrada Prague Quadrennial 2023 se publicó primero en zuloark.

Ecological refurbishment of a duplex penthouse after a fire

Taüll House is a complete renovation of an attic, part of a mountain housing complex destroyed after a fire. Taüll is a small village in the Pyrenees of Lleida, located at an altitude of 1,500 meters, in an idyllic natural setting surrounded by pastures and forests. The original house featured stone cladding, wood details, and slate roofs.

The main constraint of the project is the structural replacement carried out by the insurance company after the fire: an oversized arrangement of laminated wooden beams with a marked rhythm that defined the interior partitions.

The project’s premise was to achieve a space as open as possible, both vertically and horizontally, that would be versatile. The house is conceived as a large extruded triangle under a gable roof, creating a space with two levels. Openings in the façades are expanded towards the views to introduce abundant natural light. Additionally, the division of space into two levels allows the areas to be differentiated according to levels of privacy and improves movement flow on the lower level, with the main functions located on the ground floor. The staircase is custom-designed to connect the two levels.

Through movable modules that open and close within the walls, versatile and compact storage spaces are created in the main rooms or transit areas. The house’s climate control is also improved by introducing a heating and DHW system through a pellet boiler supported by thermal solar panels, as well as insulation with certified sheep wool “jersey” of twenty centimeters thick.

As for finishes, the flooring is natural oak wood, four centimeters thick, with a natural beeswax varnish. Ecological paints and resins are used, and the bathrooms are finished with Tadelakt, an eco-friendly, hand-polished coating.

La entrada Taüll House se publicó primero en zuloark.

Deconstructing the disco ball

The Bilbao BBK Live 2018 festival took place over three days on Mount Kobetas in Bilbao and featured artists such as Florence + The Machine, The XX, Gorillaz, Childish Gambino, and many more.

Zuloark designed the festival’s scenography, embracing circular design and material reuse in line with our “Second Lives” design philosophy and the organization’s commitment to sustainability. The design focused on wood as the main material, reusing structures from previous years with new finishes and compositions.

One of the highlights of this year’s festival was the addition of a new area, Lasai, dedicated to relaxed electronic music.

This time, we aimed to deconstruct an iconic festival element: the mirror disco ball, transforming all festival scenography into mirrors. Each piece reflected the privileged natural surroundings and the atmosphere of BBK 2018, distorting the festival’s reality as if seen through a large kaleidoscope.

Here we share part of the creative process behind Zuloark’s work for Bilbao BBK Live 2018: some of the illustrations that inspired the design and communication of the festival’s scenography. Some of these pieces were constructed, while others were not. This catalog showcases the best proposals from 2018.

La entrada Bilbao BBK Live 2018 se publicó primero en zuloark.

Geometries of Light and Air

The Bilbao BBK Live music festival is one of the most significant events in Spain’s music scene. It takes place every year in the city of Bilbao over three days, attracting a crowd of more than 120,000 people who come to enjoy top-tier music in a spectacular setting: Mount Kobetas.

The 2019 BBK lineup featured bands and artists such as The Strokes, Rosalía, Liam Gallagher, Thom Yorke, Suede, Brockhampton, Idles, Nils Frahm, Vince Staples and many others.

Minimal interventions

In this edition of BBK, we took a step further in applying our sustainability principles to the stage designs, aligning with the festival’s ecological commitment. The shapes of the stages drew inspiration from the BBK 2019 graphic identity, which was based on simple geometries like circles and triangles.

We took the design strategy to a radical level, aiming to use the least material possible. The stage setups were conceived as atmospheres, using the natural landscape, light, and air to define each space with minimal interventions and maximum reduction in construction material.

For instance, the entrances were designed as illuminated geometric tunnels, created from flat triangular shapes. The entry to the Basoa stage featured a large red balloon, and within the space, a giant mirrored sphere hung between the trees, sketching the space with threads of light and smoke.

The design process

We want to share some of Zuloark’s “backstage” work at Bilbao BBK Live 2019 by publishing some illustrations used in the design and communication of the festival stage setups. Some pieces were built, while others we hope to build in another occasion. This catalog gathers the best proposals from 2019:

La entrada Bilbao BBK Live 2019 se publicó primero en zuloark.