TYPOLOGY: Educational
CREDITS: In partnership with Estudio Transversal and Camilo Ochoa
YEAR: 2021
LOCATION: Medellín, Colombia
CLIENT: Universidad de Medellín
Private competition for the design of a library for Universidad Medellín.
The library is arranged in such a way that it can operate directly from the main access of the university, building a clear and ceremonial relation, starting from a square that gradually resolves the unevenness and is full of trees to extend its reading and meeting areas to the outside.
The central square is divided into 4 quadrants. One for the building - The administration at level -, a second for the ceremonial and tree-lined public space - The knowledge forest -, another for the oxidation lagoon and tribune/stairway over the soccer field, space to house the monument symbol of the university - The Garden of Tradition- and a fourth quadrant to accommodate the space for parking and bicycles that we considered should mutate as a public space in the future that we believe should accommodate the commercial space -meeting Plaza -.
Therefore, the heart of the university organizes and establishes new ways of relating.
The public space weaves together the existing buildings, integrating them into the campus, developing a new center for the campus.
The project seeks to use the forms of architecture belonging to the tropics, those that allow us to inhabit intermediate places, those that constantly negotiate the limit. This limit is built from terraces and eaves. This organization allows to build spaces without mechanical ventilation, guaranteeing energy savings.
The project is a system of skins that regulate the thermal condition, allowing air and light to pass through but not heat. This is structured from a sequence of thresholds, terraces and patios, typical of the architecture of the tropics of our region. This allows a multiplicity of spaces, diverse and flexible, adjusting to different needs over time, without losing the identity of tropical architecture.
Our project seeks to bet on a material that allows to gain thermal mass. For this purpose, we have chosen a mixture of cast-in-place concrete and precast GRC panels, pigmented in a terracotta colour. This material condition prevents the entry of heat into the spaces but guarantees light and a cozy atmosphere.
