Por Redaccion 
The Government of Asturias presented on Saturday in Avilés the project for Phase II of the Escuela Superior de Arte del Principado (Esapa), which will allow consolidating all educational offerings on the parcel of the Principado de Asturias Business Park (PEPA) inaugurated in 2019. This expansion, which will accommodate the Design studies currently located in the Camposagrado palace, includes an exhibition hall, a unique coworking space, an auditorium, and another library, all tailored to the center’s needs.
The projected action will occupy a built area of almost 3,000 square meters, distributed in three interconnected volumes and, in turn, with the buildings of the first phase. It also includes an intervention to adapt a part of the existing building, which will not affect the development of educational activities.
This project has a base bidding budget of just over 7 million, which will be financed over three years: 594,110 euros this year, 4.21 million in 2026, and 2.19 in 2027. The execution period is 20 months and the contracting has already been put out to tender. The expectation is that work can begin in the last quarter of this year.
The Minister of Education, Lydia Espina, and the Director General of Infrastructures and Educational Technologies, Julio Vallaure, presented the project, accompanied by the Mayor of Avilés, Mariví Monteserín, and several councilors of the municipal corporation.
Espina highlighted that the planned building «meets all the requirements to unify the school’s studies and improve the life and organization of the center.» «The spaces are specifically designed and tailored to the educational offerings, and the center incorporates all the technical characteristics of the rest of the facilities,» she assessed.
The project -signed by the temporary union of companies (UTE) Inspyra, Llaca, and Sampedro- consists of three volumes with different heights. The first volume, on the ground floor, will have a coworking space with movable acoustic partitions that will enable up to four differentiated areas adapted to the specific needs of each moment. There will also be six classrooms (2 for product projects, 1 for basic projects, 1 for drawing, and 2 for computing) and three workshops (2 for models and 1 for printing).
The second volume, which will have a sculptural shape, is divided into two floors: the ground floor will house the exhibition hall or socialization area, with a surface area of 161 square meters, plus a vending area. The first floor will host an auditorium with a capacity for 171 people, complete with a stage, auxiliary space, and a projection booth. Additionally, it will have two emergency exits.
Finally, the third volume of the expansion will also have two heights. The first floor will house six classrooms (3 technical, one computing, one drawing, and one graphic design project) and the second will accommodate a new library for Design studies, 3 classrooms for basic projects, and one for computing.
Regarding the planned action on the ground floor of the existing building, the current lobby will be expanded, and all administrative areas will be concentrated in a single space, including the creation of a meeting room and a management and secretary’s office, among other facilities.
Between the buildings of both phases, an interior courtyard will be enabled on the ground floor to facilitate both natural lighting and evacuation. Additionally, the buildings at height will be integrated with each other and with the aligned facades. To achieve this, the same exterior cladding materials will be used (corten steel and glass).
Like the latest educational facilities built by the department, this expansion will feature full accessibility, following the parameters of regional and state legislation, as well as incorporating the latest advancements in efficiency and energy savings, renewable energy utilization systems, and the use of reusable or easily recyclable materials.
INAUGURATED IN 2002
The Esapa was founded in 2002 in the former Valliniello institute with a range of two higher artistic education programs. On one hand, Design, in the specialties of Graphic and Product; on the other hand, Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Assets, in the specialties of Graphic Document, Sculpture, and Painting. This dual educational offering makes this school unique in Spain.
In 2005, the Design studies were relocated to the Camposagrado palace, where they remain to this day. Meanwhile, the other higher education programs remained in Valliniello until 2019, the year of the inauguration of the first phase of the new school at the (PEPA).