The monastery is a sober typology building that was established by the Franciscan order in all its locations. The construction started in 1685 and in the beginning of XVIII century, the monastery and the church that is next to it, were totally finished.
The renovation of Saint Joaquín and Saint Pascual monastery is focused on the new use as Municipal Library, affecting the courtyard, the cloister, the East and South naves which are municipally owned.
The Monastery/Library, Church and the parish house are interconnected by a free public square with new adapted access.
From the entrance –reception-, you can access to the courtyard, the cloister and naves. The stairs and the lift are in the South East corner, in the intersection of the two naves, in order to make easier the organization of spaces and circulations.
In the ground floor there is a direct relation with the square, because of this, the children room is placed beside it. On the other hand, in the cloister is located the youth area, with the consultation- activities- lecture area.
The space of the courtyard is rescued by a glass dome, and now it is the multipurpose room which is equipped with folding tables and stackable chairs.
On the first floor is placed the administration area, and the computer room, newspaper archive, and audiovisual room. On the second floor there are two rooms with multipurpose uses (lectures, courses, workshops…). Its original volume is increased because of the rehabilitation of roof, built with a new wood structure system, as the original one. The facade recovers the original windows that were changed by the previous reforms.
The wine cellar that was in the semi basement of the old monastery is recovered as an archive. This lecture room is below the square and it is lit by natural light from skylights that are in the square.
