The Plaza de los Aljibes and the access areas to the Alhambra complex in Granada provided the setting for the workshop “Alhambra: Shadow and Light”, a design studio promoted by APE Grupo that invited participants to reflect on architecture through direct experience of place. In this enclave of extraordinary historical and landscape value, 36 architecture students from different schools developed proposals focused on the creation of spaces for rest, shade and transition, approaching ceramics as a material capable of constructing atmospheres and endowing space with meaning.
The workshop took place at the Higher Technical School of Architecture of Granada (ETSAG) and was led by architects Carmen Moreno, Juan Domingo Santos and Héctor Fernández Elorza, with the participation of Antonio Peral and Francisco Lamolda, architects of the Alhambra. Their close connection with the monument provided an essential perspective on the relationship between contemporary architecture, heritage and landscape, enriching the projects through a deep understanding of context.
The teaching team was completed by the participation of renowned guest architects, who delivered lectures and reviewed the work developed during the workshop: Atelier do Corvo (Carlos Antunes and Desirée Pedro, Coimbra), Pablo Millán (Seville), Jesús Aparicio (Madrid) and Lucas y Hernández-Gil (Madrid).
Lecturers from the Higher Technical School of Architecture of Granada also took part, including Tomás García Píriz, Serrano + Baquero, Alejandro Muñoz Miranda and Esther López Martín, together with teaching assistants Alejandro Infantes Pérez and Loreto Corisco González.
Over five days of intensive work, participants approached the project with a sensitive yet rigorous perspective, attentive to the memory of the place, light, water and the materiality that defines the monumental complex. The workshop fostered a space for research in which territorial analysis and architectural experimentation developed in parallel, incorporating processes of testing, model-making and collective reflection.
The design studio promoted direct experimentation with APE Grupo ceramics as a cultural and constructive material, exploring their capacity to activate transitional spaces and reinterpret essential elements of the Alhambra. The resulting proposals are conceived as ephemeral interventions, respectful of the site and deeply connected to its material memory, understanding ceramics not merely as a surface finish but as an architectural language capable of translating the historic landscape into a contemporary sensibility.
Inhabiting the Cercis
The project “Inhabiting the Cercis” stems from the observation of the shifting shadow cast by this tree in the Plaza de los Aljibes, understood as an atmospheric element capable of transforming the space throughout the day and across the seasons. Through a lightweight structure supporting ceramic pieces arranged at different angles and densities, the proposal extends and amplifies this natural shade, generating a landscape of filtered light, reflections and colour. The installation gradually descends to relate to the tree canopy, creating an atmospheric garden that integrates nature, ceramics and sensory experience.
The Gate of the 42,000 pieces
Located at one of the access points to the complex, this project proposes a new contemporary threshold that organises arrival at the Alhambra through a highly precise ceramic intervention. Two vertical planes and a horizontal element form a gate composed of 42,000 ceramic pieces, alternating solid areas and latticework to generate shade, visual permeability and spaces for pause and rest. The wall also functions as a vertical garden, incorporating vegetation that changes with the seasons and reinforcing the transition between city and monument.
400 m³ of memory
This project emerges from historical and archaeological research into the transformation of the terrain and the materials displaced during the evolution of the Plaza de los Aljibes. The proposal takes shape as a temporary installation formed by 400 m³ of ceramics, supported by a lightweight structure of umbrellas and springs that allows the section and density of shade to be modified according to the weight of the material. The ensemble acts as an atmospheric device that evokes the material memory of the site, without interrupting views of the surrounding landscape or altering the open condition of the square.
Lost among the leaves
Inspired by the natural shade of the Alhambra’s gardens and the form of ginkgo leaves, this project proposes a suspended ceramic canopy that accompanies the route from the access points into the interior of the complex. The pieces, held by almost invisible cables, are arranged as a light canopy that filters the light in ever-changing ways. Some descend to the ground to form benches and supports, while others tilt to modulate the density of shade. The structure, inspired by the balance and movement of mobiles, generates an immersive experience closely linked to the vegetal landscape.
The shadow of water
This project reclaims the historical role of water as a structuring element of the Alhambra’s territory. Through a series of ceramic screens that run across the Plaza de los Aljibes from the Pavilion of Charles V to the perimeter embankment, the proposal generates shade, coolness and sound by channeling water through the interior of the pieces. The system recreates an effect of dripping and humidity that refers to the site’s hydraulic tradition, while a ceramic carpet on the horizontal plane incorporates spaces for rest, waiting and listening.
Shadow and light. Clay and water
This project proposes an abstract revelation of the cisterns hidden beneath the square through a suspended ceramic veil that translates the geometry of the underground vaults to the surface. The pieces hang in undulating catenaries that respond to wind and light, evoking the movement and sound of water. The result is a dynamic and sensitive canopy that connects memory, historic infrastructure and contemporary experience through clay, light and movement.
