DESIGN and SKATE

Combining recycled furniture and inexpensive materials, Factoría Joven in the city of Mérida, Spain, also doubles as a counseling center. Covering an area of 3,000 sqm, it is one of several “youth factories” in the area – providing kids with a place to do whatever they might otherwise do in more sinister surroundings. Whereas Its program includes a concert area, broadband Internet, modding, tuning, modeling, graffiti, video and urban art, street theatre, tightrope walking, circus, climbing, electronic music, acrobatics, manga,and contemporary dance, the park's structure also hides meeting rooms where kids can get group counseling.

The factory is a joint initiative of the regional government and the local community. Design and Skate was designed by Madrid-based Selgascano Architects, a partnership between husband and wife José Selgas and Lucía Cano. who aimed at creating a public space that would be visually so exciting that it would be irresistible, open to the entire city and available to anyone. To keep costs down, there's no heating or cooling. Instead the cloudy canopy is a meter thick to shield from sun or rain. The bright orange and white cladding is made from corrugated plastic and has a level of translucence to it, allowing some sun through and interior light to filter out at night, turning the building into a glowing beacon for the community. www.selgascano.net.

(mb) Photography © Iwan Baan/Roland Halbe