Marina Pascual is responsible for Programmes in Creativity Development at Centro Botín in Santander, Northern Spain. Photo by author

In our series Iconic Buildings, we speak to people who live or work in buildings of architectural significance. Is their exposure to an architectural wonder on a daily basis a source of inspiration or simply part of the backdrop?  

In this latest installment we speak with Marina Pascual who is responsible for Programs in Creativity Development at Centro Botín in Santander, Spain.

Renzo Piano was commissioned to design Centro Botín by the Fundacion Botín, a private foundation established in Santander in 1964 that sponsors programs in the arts, education, science and rural development. Centro Botín is a two-volume space connected by a series of steel walkways that link exhibition rooms and the café/restaurant on one side with the auditorium and performance space on the other. It opened to the public in June 2017.

What is your role at Centro Botín?

I’m responsible for programs that develop creativity in Centro Botín.

How long have you worked at Centro Botín?

I’ve been collaborating for almost two years and became an employee last September.

Did the building influence your decision when accepting the job?

No. Even though Renzo Piano is one of my favorite architects, it was the project that I fell in love with. I was already working in the area of creativity development when I saw Fatima Sánchez (Director of the Centro) speak about Centro Botín at a conference and realized we had the same ideas and expressed ourselves in the same way. Later I got in touch and we began collaborating. So, it wasn’t the architectural space but the work itself.

Do you enjoy working in an iconic building?

It’s a dream come true to work in this building. Renzo Piano designed it to be a flexible space to host people, art and activities in all its forms. It’s very gratifying to prepare experiences and see how well they work. Every corner or section is so beautiful but also useful. Sometimes you can have great ideas but the building doesn’t allow you to realize those ideas – for example - the educational program I ran in a previous role took place in a basement with no natural light which just wasn’t suitable for a lot of activities. That’s not the case here. This building contributes to the creation and development of ideas. As an architect, I can see how good design helps people feel comfortable in a space and makes them want to return again. The space, the colors and the light influence us all, whether we realize it or not.

It’s a dream come true to work in this building. Renzo Piano designed it to be a flexible space to host people, art and activities in all its forms. 

What do you like most about Centro Botín? Do you like the architectural design of the building?

The interaction between the project and the building is very special. For creativity to be fostered or developed, which is the objective here at the Centro, people need to feel comfortable with each other and on their own. If you provide a space where people feel good, you’ve gotten off to a great start.

From the outside, it seems big, and clean and minimalist and it can feel like an object, but on the inside, the scale is human.

When people come here for the first time, they notice how ‘human’ the building is. The scale is human. From the outside, it seems big, and clean and minimalist and it can feel like an object, but on the inside, the scale is human. It’s not a place that imposes itself on you in the way that maybe a Baroque space might, making you feel tiny. And it doesn’t make you feel constrained like a smaller space might. This means that people feel good.

Renzo Piano and his team have enhanced sensitivity when it comes to achieving beautiful atmospheres and spaces. Take, for example, the service lift which is also a visitor elevator - it’s a space. Although it’s actually a machine designed to transport heavy objects, when you enter you don’t feel like you are in a machine. Your attention is drawn to the bay, to the exhibitions, to the park, and to the people walking around the space. The doors open slowly like a heavy curtain. The surfaces are very clean and polished so you don’t feel like you are in a metal contraption - it’s another viewing point or gallery.

Do you have a favorite lunch spot?

Most days, I eat something quick at my desk which I know I shouldn’t do. My favorite space is outside the café in front of the bay. My eyes just relax and look out on the water, the bay and the mountains while I breathe in the sea air. Renzo Piano gets the scale just right. When you sit there, you feel safe and protected. There are only two rows of tables so it’s not a noisy space. Just the odd cyclist and some pedestrians going by and maybe a fisherman or two. It’s wonderful.

I give experience tours called ‘The Architectural Animal’ because the Centro often looks like it has a skin. Sometimes it looks like a fish, sometimes like a reptile and other times like a pearl.

What time of year do you most enjoy Centro Botín?

Every day is different. The space changes so much. The time of the day, the fog, the rain, the snow, the sun, the light – it’s always changing – always beautiful. It’s like a chameleon. I give experience tours called ‘The Architectural Animal’ because the Centro often looks like it has a skin. Sometimes it looks like a fish, sometimes like a reptile and other times like a pearl. And this depends on the time of the day and the season. I find it hard to say which time I like best. I do enjoy when it’s foggy and you can’t tell the difference between the sky, the water and the Centro. Although the building often looks white – sometimes it looks grey, and sometimes even half-orange. But, for me, the times when it’s foggy and you can’t see any color at all – that’s magical. That’s what Renzo Piano wanted – that the Centro would be almost invisible from the city.

How does the building affect your job?

The building allows me to do so much. What we do in my department is to create different ways and techniques to enjoy the arts – to gain a new perspective. Today, for example, we have a drama company coming in to interpret one of the art exhibitions. We provide these types of experiences around each of the art exhibitions. And the space is so important to the experience!

Most art centers don’t have natural light because they were designed to conserve or protect the art from the light but here, it’s the opposite. Here you see the Miró paintings from the gardens without having to go into the exhibition. And when a person does go inside to the show, they see the work in context - and with the bay in the background!

Emilio Botín (former President of the Botín Foundation & Chairman of Grupo Santander who commissioned the building) wanted this art center to be used by the entire city - all ages, all backgrounds, all forms of art. And Renzo Piano wanted it in the center of the city so people could walk up to the space and around it, before coming inside. It’s become that space, a real meeting point for the city.

Is there anything you don’t like about the building?

No. There’s nothing I don’t like. Sure, the logistics of working between two buildings is a challenge. But what might seem a little uncomfortable at times is actually such a positive for visitors to the Centro. Putting on a coat in winter is a small price to pay for all the extra viewing points of the city and the bay, that didn’t exist before. And having these two volumes allows different activities to take place at the same time.

It was a bit difficult at the beginning because we’ve all come from working in one building with one entrance and one exit with events happening on the inside. Having two buildings and so many entrances and doors is complicated for Security, for Maintenance and even for the cleaners. Our cleaners work outside cleaning the building and its glass every day. But we’ve all found solutions and adapted – from different clothing to different equipment. So, no, there’s nothing I don’t like about the building – quite the opposite in fact.

If you left your job at Centro Botín, what would you miss most?

Everything. It’s such as solid project. The building, the objectives, working with Yale University - if you leave this job, you leave all of it. There’s nothing like the Centro Botín. When I left my previous job, I missed the people. But leaving here to go to another museum? This is no ordinary museum. In fact, it’s not a museum at all. It’s an arts center where so much happens. I’d miss every last bit of it. The team here is great. I’m the newest team member and the atmosphere is fantastic. We all believe in what we do and work long and hard here. But working in a space with so much natural light designed by Renzo Piano – time flies. How could it be anything other than perfect? It’s wonderful!