MUNICIPAL SPORTS PAVILLION - CALERA DE TANGO
This project is the adaptation of an agricultural pavilion developed during Chile’s mid-twentieth century Agricultural Reform. This redistribution of farmable land reorganized the nation’s productive structure by dividing large pieces of land, remnants of Chile’s colonial past, and redistributing it among smaller farmers that would themselves be organized in collectives. Many of these collectives built collection centres for the harvest that also served as meeting and celebrations spaces for this new, fledging community.
The building was in a severe state of neglect, which affected the surrounding context, comprised of the municipal stadium and a playground. The Municipal Educational Corporation and the Municipality of Calera de Tango joined forces to raise and rehabilitate this deteriorated building in order to be used not only as a sports centre for the nearby municipal schools but also as one of Calera de Tango’s emblematic public structures, where people could celebrate their culture and identity.
The proposal was to maintain the original structural walls, which are made from local adobe bricks, the main building material of Santiago’s farmland since colonial times, by separating the structure of the new pavilion through a metallic structure that inhabits the old building, creating a dialogue between the existing and new. The steel structure spans a great distance, eliminating the need of internal pillars, and gently settles on the outer edge of the longitudinal wall creating a previously non-existent public meeting space meant for leisure and contemplation. This idea for a dialogue between inside and outside is born, as in other projects, from our experience in Japan which also played a great part in the use of cost-effective materials from which to extract natural decorative qualities, such as the delicate finish of industrial wood panelling and varnish, which lends its unique texture to add warmth to such a large space.
As a contribution to Calera de Tango’s children, this pavilion progressed from a closed building, destined for the exclusive use of certain sporting activities, to the most significant common space in the area.
Architects: Catalina González, Sebastián Yurjevic
Location: Calera de Tango, Chile
Area: 1,197.16 sqm
Structural calculation: Silvana Cominetti
Materiality: Steel structure, wood, masonry.
Photographs: Aryeh Kornfeld, www.draft.cl
View Original