Revitalizing the valley, agro-urban connector of the Lurin Valley.

Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, Facultad de Arquitectura y Urbanismo, Lima

Project idea

More than 3 thousand years ago, the people who settled in Lima (Peru) constructed irrigation canals that made the desert a fertile and habitable area. Taming the territory, three green valleys grew and nourished the inhabitants of Lima. These productive valleys lasted for more than two thousand years, thanks to the pre-Columbian worldview that dictated that to inhabit was to coexist in a sustainable way with nature.
The Sanctuary of Pachacamac (pre-Inca construction) was an organizer of this worldview. It was built more than 2,000 years ago in the lower basin of the Lurín valley. It was visited by multitudes of pilgrims, in search of the knowledge of the oracle for the benefit of the crops. It was a recreational, ceremonial, educational, and above all, an administrative space. With the Spanish conquest, the sanctuary fell into disuse, and the administration of the products of the valley (and of Lima in general) shifted towards a new worldview that was basically geared toward the exploitation of natural resources. With this, and the accelerated urban growth of the twentieth century, Lima destroyed most of two of its three agricultural productive valleys. The Lurín Valley is Lima's last green valley, and its preservation as a natural area, a nearby productive agricultural source, and a cultural landscape of our pre-Hispanic heritage, is important. Currently, the low basin of the valley is threatened by the urban pressure of a city in constant growth, and also by an industrial pressure. Farmers in the area do not get much income from their production, so many have started selling their land to industries. My project suggests that the proximity to the city could be an opportunity for the valley, and not a threat, unifying the production of the valley and organizing it as the Sanctuary of Pachacamac used to do.

Project description

I recognize 3 important factors that promote the preservation of the green valley: agriculture, gastronomy and tourism.
It is in the combination of these 3 that the project is born. The program aims to function as a contemporary version of the sanctuary, a space that unifies and manages the valley, with an educational nature for its sustainable development, in which the territory we inhabit can be appreciated and revalued. An agriculture hub is developed to unify the agricultural production of the valley; also an agriculture school that focuses mainly on teaching how to harvest higher quality organic products; finally, a gastronomic school and a restaurant.
The project is located at the intersection of roads connecting the valley with the city, and functions as the gateway to the valley. The architecture of the building rescues some elements of the Inca architecture, such as the use of self-supporting walls, platforms that define spaces, ramps that connect them, interior courtyards and complex paths. A succession of walls parallel to each other and parallel to the walls of the sanctuary are proposed, which continue the furrows of the crops. These walls are hollowed out according to the needs of the program. While the walls maintain their height, the platforms generate different levels that are adapted to the different uses. The roofs are also adjustable for indoor activities. Some interior courtyards or spaces where light is required are kept open. In transitional spaces is placed a light roof in the form of catenary made with bamboo, material that abounds in the area. In contrast to this, in working or educational areas concrete vaults are placed, made with a bamboo formwork within.
The tour is an important part of the project because it aims to integrate the different programs into an experience where the true value of the agricultural product is understood through all its stages from the soil up to the table. When you pass through the first wall, you enter the space where you treat the agricultural product that comes directly from the land. Next you enter the space of the product for sale and, finally, the gastronomic area that represents the product already on the plate.
This is how my project aims to revalue agriculture, revalue the valley, bring closer people of today to the old pre-Columbian worldview, so that by understanding where our food comes from we can give it the importance it deserves.

Technical information

The construction of the project is efficient because it is modular in its parallel axes every 5 meters. All the walls are wide and self-supporting, made of exposed concrete with a central gutter. They are reinforced with an inner mesh and have a polystyrene filling. To support the lateral loads, cross steel rods are placed between wall and wall, as well as footings that join the walls in a transverse way. The vaulted concrete ceilings are prefabricated with a bamboo formwork on the inside. The light roof is made of bamboo and rope; it is tied to some anchors in the walls so that it is hanging. Finally, fixed furniture such as planters, which also serve as seats, are elements that emerge from the polished concrete floor, as well as the furniture for the market.