Centro de convenciones de Cafayate
The project is proposed as a connector for the future Coastal Promenade over the Loro Huasi River, linking it to the city center through a public square on National Route No. 40, which also serves as the access vestibule to the Convention Center.
On a broader scale, the intervention is articulated through an East-West axis (pedestrian and vehicular), which takes up the entire site and serves as a connector for the different internal and external functions. In this sense, the project aims for a functional unity composed of various elements that interact with each other. The Convention Center is designed as an efficient building, both economically (construction and maintenance costs), environmentally (carbon footprint, energy performance), and functionally (spacious areas with good lighting, ventilation, and views). For this purpose, a compact, simple, and clear geometric square-based parallelepiped is proposed.
The project is conceived as one large, unified space that also contains different areas of similar characteristics. In this sense, the Main Patio, Foyer, Multipurpose Room (SUM), Secondary Patio, and Main Halls form a spatial and functional ensemble of great integration and flexibility, allowing for countless situations both in operation and in spatial characteristics.
Surrounding this large space, on the East and North sides, the support services for its operation (administration, restrooms, changing rooms, kitchen, and storage) are arranged, connected to each other and to the different served areas through a precise and clear technical circulation system.
The building draws on two characteristic elements of traditional regional architecture: the courtyard and the gallery, reinterpreting them as active components of the proposal. In this scheme, the Main Patio is designed as an open-air hall, providing access to the Foyer and also acting as an overflow area for the Multipurpose Room. Meanwhile, the gallery on the South and West edges of the building is rethought not only as a circulation space but also as a flexible area capable of accommodating various functions and integrating spatially and functionally with the building, while framing and containing the landscape.
As in the architecture of Argentina's northwest, the project seeks to achieve optimal thermal comfort through the design of solid volumes, thick walls, and narrow openings to the exterior, while having larger openings toward the interior courtyard. Simultaneously, the arrangement and continuity of the courtyards and volumes allow for cross-ventilation of the spaces they serve, acting as a means of passive thermal conditioning.
The galleries and the sunshade system in the windowed areas function as elements that regulate light and sun exposure. The building’s image arises from the compositional relationship between the solid volumes and the galleries, seeking simplicity and visual clarity, in harmony with the play of solid and voids characteristic of the traditional architecture of the northwest.
