La Base

La Base is a former sailing base which famously hosted the winning Swiss team (Alinghi) during the 2007 America’s Cup. It was built 2 years prior to the event with a total of 4 storeys (counting the rooftop terrace). Currently, the only usable area is the ground floor, which has two high-ceiling hangars of 3000 m² total. La Base is a classic example of an installation erected to serve a temporary purpose without any long-term strategic plan for future exploitation. Following America’s Cup the building was fenced off and remained mostly idle until the fall of 2016, when the new Strategic Plan of Consorcio Valencia 2007 was put in place.

Today the former sailing base serves as a hub for culture, creativity and innovation.

Recovering and repurposing La Base has been of strategic importance to the revitalization of the entire waterfront, not only because of the building size, but also its physical and symbolic position in the overall landscape of La Marina. The process of refurbishing La Base sought to recover yet another underused space, legacy of grand but short-sighted ambitions, left empty despite its enormous potential and attractive position along the Valencian promenade. The goal of CV07 was to make the building open and accessible to the public, thus converting it into a natural extension of the public space and a powerful tool for attracting people, generating economic activity and entertainment opportunities. The bottom line vision is to transform the former sailing base through a bottom-up participatory process into a hub for creativity, culture and innovation.