NIEMEYER CENTER

It is the great cultural reference of Avilés and thanks to which the city has had international repercussions.

It is a design by the Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer, who was Prince of Asturias Award for the Arts in 1989, who in 2006 decided to donate the design of a project to commemorate the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Prince of Asturias Foundation.

It is one of the architect’s few works in Europe and he considered it to be “his most important and beloved work outside Brazil”.

Located in a quite degraded industrial land that was recovered. The first stone was laid in 2008 and it was finally inaugurated in 2011.

The architectural design, built in concrete and with white as the main color, consists of 5 different spaces:

  • The square: open place for public use, Oscar Niemeyer wanted it to be a space open to everyone where cultural or recreational activities can be held.
  • The dome: diaphanous building for exhibitions formed by a hemispherical dome of 4000 square meters.
  • The tower: privileged viewpoint over the city and its estuary with its spiral staircase to climb to its 20 meters high.
  • The auditorium: versatile space for holding all kinds of shows. Its main hall has a stage capable of opening to the outside of the square. It has a capacity for 1000 people. Temporary exhibitions are also held in its lobby.
  • The multipurpose building: with an aesthetic in which the straight line predominates to be the link between the auditorium and the dome. It has different rooms for exhibitions or meetings and a cinema.

For its inauguration a concert by film director Woody Allen was held and other celebrities have passed through it such as Brad Pitt or Kevin Spacey to name a few.

More information about the center can be found on its website