La Llotja de Lleida 2.85

La Llotja de Lleida is a theatre and congress centre in Lleida (Catalonia, Spain). It opened its doors in January 2010, and is owned by the city council. Giuseppe Verdi's Il Trovatore premiered there on 21 January. Its two congress halls, called A and B, have capacity for 400 and 200 people, while the main auditory, Sala Ricard Viñes, has 1000 seats. It's located in Pardinyes, next to the river Segre and the Lleida Pirineus railway station, on the site of a former municipal market.The animation film festival Animac moved to La Llotja de Lleida in February 2010, on the occasion of its 14th edition.On 23 March 2010, King Juan Carlos and Queen Sophia of Spain officially opened La Llotja de Lleida.ArchitectureThe building was designed by the Dutch architecture firm Mecanoo, from Delft. Mecanoo’s design interprets the landscape of Lleida as the exciting scenery before which the building has been placed, somewhat further from the river. The mise-en-scène is elaborated on three levels of scale. Regarded from the large scale of the region, the building forms a link between the river and the mountain. Viewed from the urban scale, La Llotja and the river form a balanced composition. At street level the cantilevers of La Llotja de Lleida provide protection from sun and rain.The large stone edifice seems to have sprouted from the Spanish earth. The building’s horizontal form provides a large garden on the roof, while under the cantilevers begins a square for events, with the stairs of the adjacent building serving as a tribune. Parking has been created underground with the loading area for trucks on the ground level, the same level where the theatre stage, dressing rooms and restaurant kitchen are found.