The Center for Contemporary Creation of Andalusia, or C3A for short, is a contemporary art museum located in Cordoba, Spain. The museum has 12,207 square meters, with four floors and a media facade that overlooks the Guadalquivir River. The Andalusia government held an international competition for architects to create the museum.
The architects Fuensanta Nieto and Enrique Sobejano won the competition in 2008, along with construction company FCC Construccion, SA. The museum’s exterior is white, and the interior is entirely made out of concrete. The museum’s design uses a repeating geometric pattern for all the rooms, in the shape of a hexagon. From a birds-eye view of the museum, you can see that the rooms are constructed into hexagon shapes that are not identical in size nor depth, so the exhibition rooms are different. The idea behind the design comes from the appearance of a DNA molecular. The rooms all showcase artworks and workshops that flow smoothly into other rooms.
Carved hexagons cover the outside of the museum. The hexagon shapes face the river and have openings with LED shining through the holes. During the day, natural light shines through the gaps and brightens the museum’s interior. During the night, they produce fantastic light shows for people to watch.
Inside the museum, the concrete follows a monochromatic grey color scheme. Even though there are openings with light shining into the museum, the interior remains moody and dim. The black hexagons’ dim lighting is multi-functional spaces designed for productions, conferences, film screenings, and art exhibitions.
Additionally, the museum focuses on visual and audiovisual arts and performing arts such as theater and dance. Interestingly, the museum also features interactive workshops that artists can create wood sculptures, paintings, and ceramics. The museum also has a space for media lab equipment, a 3D printer, and a scanner. Workshops and exhibits happen on the ground level, and production typically occurs on the building’s higher levels.
We are lucky enough to visit the art center and check out some of the past art pieces showcased. Many exhibitions at the museum focus on artificial intelligence and futuristic themes. The Sun Xun Solo Exhibition titled Time Spy blends reality and fantasy by reconstructing the universe.
We were also able to check out the toilet paper assemblage. Numerous toilet paper rolls form a hexagon shape that mimics the facade’s hexagon theme. These rolls look like the aerial view of the museum when looking at them from the top.
Another past exhibition we got to see is titled Cyprus and Beyond II, a photographic exhibition. The exhibition is part of the many interactive workshops showcasing at the museum. The exhibition displays photographs by the volunteers who join the group Cyprus Third Age through the museum.
Amazingly, the museum showcases many performance art exhibitions as well. A current ongoing show is Derek Van Den Bulcke’s Brand New Performance. The museum has a large black room which is a stage for performance artists. Space allows the artists to create an audiovisual experience for the audience. Bulcke’s performance includes blending experimental techno music with flamenco art. The black box room also features movies and conferences.