The Tabakalera Board of Directors, formed by representatives from the Donostia-San Sebastián City Council, the Gipuzkoa Provincial Government and the Basque Government, met this afternoon in San Sebastián and gave the go ahead to the architectural renovation work for the building. The work is due to begin this coming May.
The architects Jon and Naiara Montero, winners of the International Tabakalera Architectural Renovation Competition, will be presenting the final design at the end of March. Nevertheless, the decision made this afternoon by the Board of Directors enables the tender for the work contracts to be set in motion immediately. The aim is to ensure that work begins in four months' time, providing, of course, that the final design has been presented and approved within this timeframe. The aim, therefore, is to comply with the established deadlines and to enable the renovated building to be reopened in 2013.
Furthermore, during the Board meeting held this afternoon, the decision was made to divide the works into different batches, and to put them out to tender separately. Thus, the various works contracts may be awarded to different construction firms. The Board of Directors is the Contracting Body and will be responsible for appointing the members of the Works Monitoring Committee.
As with most architectural renovation projects, the process will begin with the demolition of the annexed buildings. Next, the existing foundations will be reinforced, since despite the fact that they are in fairly good condition, they need to be made even stronger in order to enable them to withstand any possible additional stress caused by future works carried out in the immediate vicinity. The next stages include structural operations, facility layout, building work and finishes, and finally, the last stage is the development of the surrounding area.
