Carmen del Negro — Granada Municipal Historical Archive
Competition: 1st prize, May 2002 | Design and Construction Management (Phase 1): Luis Feduchi | Phase 1 – Completion: 2009 | Original Client: Albaicín Heritage Foundation | Contractor: ACSA Agbar, UCOP | Cost: approx. 2.4 M € (Albaicín Plan, cumulative investment through 2009) | Area: 3,900 m² | Collaborators: Guillermo García-Hoz | Óscar García Pérez | Nuria Aragonés | Technical construction supervision (Phase 1): Luis Zarandieta | Structural engineering: Tomás Dalda
Phase 2 – Completion: 2026 | Client: City of Granada, Regional Government of Andalusia, Alhambra Trust | Contractor: Albaida | Cost: €2.8 million (Alhambra Plan) | Area: 3,900 m² | Project development and construction management (Phase 2): Fresneda–Zamora Arquitectos | Technical construction management (Phase 2): Miguel Ángel Ramos | Original project consulting: ROAD – Luis Feduchi e.U.
The project for the new Historic Archive of Granada, located in the Carmen del Negro estate in the Albaicín, was developed following the first prize awarded in the international competition held in 2002. Conceived as a landscapedriven intervention, the building is organized as a semiburied volume that preserves the historic orchard of the carmen, Granada’s traditional self‑sufficient house‑garden‑orchard typology dating back to the Islamic period and transforms its roof into a public space overlooking the Alhambra.
The first phase of construction, directed by Luis Feduchi within the Albaicín Plan, was completed in 2009. After years of interruption, work resumed in 2023 thanks to the Alhambra Plan, under the direction of Fresneda–Zamora Arquitectos, who completed the building and restored the carmen in continuity with the original design. During this phase, ROAD – Luis Feduchi e.U. supported the process as consultant to the original project, addressing specific questions related to its interpretation and continuity.
With a floor area of 3,900 m², the new archive stands as one of the most significant contemporary interventions in Granada’s heritage landscape, integrating architecture, topography and the agricultural memory of the Albaicín UNESCO Heritage Site.
