A rock-cut Rioja site made legible again

In Albelda de Iregua, a historic complex carved into the cliffs has been carefully reworked rather than remade. Peña de las Bodegas sits between Peña Salagona and Peña de las Bodegas, part of a group of excavated spaces that have served many lives over time: as columbaria, livestock shelters, and eremitic and monastic dwellings linked to the nearby Monastery of San Martín. Locally, the site is known as the Scriptorium, a nod to the Codex Vigilanus written in the monastery’s surroundings.

What makes the project interesting is how little it adds. Sergio Rojo’s rehabilitation keeps the rock-cut architecture at the centre, cleaning the stone so the spaces read more clearly and introducing only a few new pieces. There is a bench-lined exterior area looking over the valley, while inside a backlit floating timber floor leads visitors through two levels joined by stairs. Openings in the western rock face have also been adjusted to bring in more natural light.

The new work uses dry construction systems and avoids concrete and cement, so the intervention can remain reversible and changes to the excavated structure are kept to a minimum. The result sounds best for readers who like architecture that works by subtraction, and for anyone already exploring La Rioja’s carved landscapes and monastic history.

Our summary of a story from designboom, published 7 October 2026. Read the original

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