San Telmo Performing Arts Center

FADU - Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Arquitectura, Diseno y Urbanismo, Buenos Aires

Project idea

The project had to be located in San Telmo, a historic neighborhood in the city of Buenos Aires.

As San Telmo lacks qualitative public space and places for recreation,
the proposed building completes the urban fabric and donates its backyard to the public. The community of San Telmo will enjoy a new quality of public space away from the noise and movement of Peru Street and Independencia Avenue.

The program included a private and a public area which had to be separated, but in a way interacting, so as to give enriching experiences to the users.

Project description

The building aligns the firewall of 24mts and liberates all other neighbouring facades in order to offer a generous qualitative public space that surrounds the building. This operation avoids having a huge firewall and leaves space to the neighboring building that has windows facing the Center. The building receives the best orientation without impediments since the building aside is a listed building with 10m height which cannot be modified.

In the access a slight elevation delimits a new space generating a situation of transition. The morphology of the building guides and induce the user to enter. This is reinforced by the free floor plan that allows impressive insights across the building to the backyard.

The project solves a complex program of public and private character, accomplishing the interaction between them without mixing the user´s activities. The void and balconies are the elements that connect and separate the public and private spaces.

The big and dark rooms, like the cinema and theatre, are located towards the street since the intention is to persuade people to the backyard, where public leisure programs are developed to generate a social and cultural encounter.

The solid program is attached to the firewall and the rest of the uses are accommodated in the most flexible part of the building. The educational program looks towards the backyard in such a way that the lower floors have a green view, and the upper ones act as viewpoints of the city.

The intervention of the building transcends the program, it gives an answer to the needs of the area and generates new urban dynamics that strengthens the public character and enriches the community.

Technical information

PROGRAM

Public:
- Theatre (300m2) + foyer
- Cinema (300m2) + foyer
- Flat room (300m2) + foyer
- Bar (200m2)
- Library (120m2)
- Multifunction room (120m2)

Private:
- Stage + Dressing room
- 4 Classrooms (60m2 each)
- Music room (100m2) + Recording studio (20m2)
- Scenery workshop (100m2)
- 4 Rehearsal rooms (120m2 each)
- Administration (60m2)