ArchShowcase Sumit Singhal
Sumit Singhal loves modern architecture. He comes from a family of builders who have built more than 20 projects in the last ten years near Delhi in India. He has recently started writing about the architectural projects that catch his imagination. Velodrome in Culiacan, Mexico by Bunker ArquitecturaSeptember 21st, 2012 by Sumit Singhal
Article source: Emelio Barjau Professional cycling has developed enormously in the State of Sinaloa, Mexico, in the last decade. Several international star athletes have brought attention to the sport, fueled by Olympic victories and enthusiastic press. Consequently there is an interest in building Culiacan´s new velodrome, as well as incorporating policies that favor cycling as a mode of transportation into the city’s plans for new public spaces. Our vision channels this newfound enthusiasm for cycling into a single thread that unites a professional sports building with a cycling-oriented park development.
Our proposal for a series of spiral ramps that risearound and above the Olympic velodrome in Culiacan is an attempt to connect this building, representative of Sinaloa’s competitive aspirations, with its urban context. At presentvelodromes worldwide are specialized facilities surrounded by large parking lots. To counteract this car oriented approach to sport complexes, we envision a complete integration with the riverside park, which it lies adjacent to. Cycling lanes from the park are drawn into the site and begin to spiral up and around the velodrome as gentle ramps that circle above the building. The two main ramps, protected by translucent steel mesh skin, circle up and meet in a single ring at the top creating a continuous path that rises and comes back down. The total length of the journey is 3.5km. From inside and out, you can see the public cycling in the skin of the building. From inside the cycling lanes you can enjoy the competitions or events taking place in the velodrome track or the central esplanade. It is meant to connect the amateur cycling world with the professional one, generating visibility, public interest, and strengthening both. The skin that wraps the velodrome is a continuation of the urban fabric, a living and habitable membrane, a new public space for the city. BNKR Arquitectura Design Philosophy Bunker Arquitectura is a Mexico City-based architecture, urbanism and research office founded by Esteban Suarez in 2005. In their short career they have been able to experience and experiment architecture in the broadest scale possible: from small iconic chapels for private clients to a master plan for an entire city. Bunker has continuously attracted attention for its outside the box approach to architecture with projects such as a three-kilometer habitable bridge that unites the bay of Acapulco and an inverted skyscraper 300 meters deep in the main square of the historic center of Mexico City. Every new project starts with a profound research of the social, political, economical, cultural and environmental factors that surround each particular site. The analysis and understanding of all this information, crossbred with Bunker´s indefatigable pursuit of innovation, yields architecture that is specific to its conditions. In this sense, no two projects ever look or feel alike. What ties them together is an evident need to constantly push the boundaries of architecture. Besides developing projects for private clients, the government or competitions, Bunker is continuously involved in self-financed research projects that nurture the theoretical side of their practice. In this manner, the built and unbuilt projects bear the same weight in their balance. Theory and practice coexist in perfect symbiosis. Contact Bunker Arquitectura
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