The building is defined as a series of pleats in direct dialogue with strong topographical conditions. The tower lies on the hillside.From the natural conformation of the relief, the architectural gesture generates a transversal line to the ridge, becoming a viaduct that connects the upper and the lower part of the existing site, as it rises above the new main road design and an existing secondary road.
In July of 2003, UTT organized an informal, but very public, presentation and symposium at Caracas’ central university to protest the government plan and begin the process of exploring alternatives. Attended by architects, planners, various other experts, university activists, and barrio leaders, the meeting stunned government planners: speakers from San Agustín were not only vehement in their objections, they were eloquent and well-informed.
The building is surrounded by the Headquarters buildings (built during the 80’s) and the rest of the Centre foundational buildings (built during the 60’s), all of them designed by Architect Antonio Pinzani.
A particular geometry characterizes those buildings from 60’s: thin double curved concrete surfaces (Hyperbolic Paraboloids or HYPAR) cover spaces such as restaurants, theatre, access area, etc. The use of these shells as umbrellas makes evident the architect’s intention to create spaces sensible to the weather and the surroundings. For the Headquarter building, 20 years apart from the first ones, Pinzani makes use of a similar design strategy taking it to the next level: a single roof, at a bigger scale, cover several fluid spaces of different hierarchy with its shadow.
email
Facebook
Twitter
RSS Feed
