Piura

About This Project

Piura

Business center. Perú

Conceived as horizontal planes which allude to the three worlds of the Incas, this project takes elements from that culture and expresses them in the architectonic idea.
The building refers to the relationship between new and ancient architecture. This new urban symbol, because of its location and contents, will become a landmark for the city and its inhabitants.

The project is based on a simple geometry, austere, functional, and practical: simple boxes grouped according to the users’ needs.

This geometry allowed us to divide each floor in equal, rectangular parts, ideal for the optimization of their disposition.

The building rests on a platform, like an “ushno”, and is accessed through a public courtyard. Cars have a single, cul de sac access. The access hall, meeting rooms, and all of the offices are transparent, allowing for a good view of the river.

Conceived as a unitary piece, the main volume is divided into two volumes: one of them, of great mass, is an essential part of the project’s argument and has limestone walls. The other, a lighter, glass volume with a curtain wall, is enveloped by a weave of parasols which give the building its modern look.

The cafeteria, on the top floor, is wrapped by a “box of shadow”, whose roof is formed by solar panels. This area is for relaxation and recreation. On this top floor, rainwater is collected and directed towards the water mirrors in the ground floor.

Each floor has expansion terraces for working zones.

The contest’s rules requested an extra story for offices. Far from modifying the project’s spirit, this floor implicitly provides its own solution.

It was added as a sort of bellows between the two main volumes. Inserted between them, it gives new expressivity to the original idea.

This story does not look like an addition: rather, it gives the concept more personality and the result is a powerful visual image.

We sought to design a simple construction, with a symbolic and emblematic character, appropriate for an institutional building, which efficiently responds to the requirements of the project, the climate, light, and views.