Sergio Rojo Rehabilitates Peña de las Bodegas Rock-Cut Complex in La Rioja

Key facts

• Architect Sergio Rojo rehabilitated the Peña de las Bodegas rock-cut complex in Albelda de Iregua, La Rioja, Spain.
• The complex is carved into salagón, a clay-rich stone, and forms part of a historic group of excavated spaces between Peña Salagona and Peña de las Bodegas.
• Historically, the spaces were used as columbaria, livestock shelters, and eremitic and monastic dwellings, associated with the nearby Monastery of San Martín.
• The site is locally known as the Scriptorium, referencing the Codex Vigilanus (Codex Albeldensis), written in the monastery's surroundings.
• The interior extends across two levels connected by stairs, with two long ventilation shafts known as zarceras or tuferas.
• Rojo's intervention includes a backlit floating timber floor, an exterior area with benches, and redefined openings in the western rock face to increase natural light.
• The project uses dry construction systems and avoids concrete and cement to keep new work reversible and minimize changes to the excavated architecture.
• The rehabilitation was submitted to designboom's DIY submissions feature and edited by Christina Vergopoulou.