KOX NUU

Tecnológico de Monterrey (ITESM), dep. of architecture

Project idea

It all began with a request for the establishment of a new cultural center in San Pablo Huitzo, Oaxaca (a community located in the central valleys of Oaxaca, Mexico) where the government offers free cultural and labor courses, including singing, guitar playing, piano playing, cuisine, folkloric dancing, theatre, lumber classes, weaving classes, and painting. In and near San Pablo Huitzo, all of them are available to residents. The administration of the cultural center expects 300 students by 2024, but there isn't enough space in the actual cultural space to accommodate that many students. This is where Kox nuu comes in. The purpose of this cultural center is to create a space for the development of the community, by providing a space that is functional and comfortable for teaching the love of arts and a sense of care for the environment. On the other hand, Kox Nuu will serve as a place of meeting and coexistence for the community.
The architectural program of the project consists of a gallery-museum, the mixteca ball game court, kitchen workshop, administration, library, auditorium, teachers' room, administration, reception, dining room for 60 people, cold room, pantry, dressing rooms, medical clinic, multipurpose workshop (wich works as a emergency hall during natural disasters), parking , lodging area for special guests, vertical orchard and a viewpoint.

Project description

Our project consists on 2 rectangular volumes, staggered and modulated based on the measurements of commercial materials, this modules form an interior patio within the structure that helps the natural ventilation and lighting, which at the same time becomes the heart of our project. Where all the activities that take place in the cultural center converge, the steps help us to form the circulations with steel pergolas and planters to enter each workshop, all the interior furniture its planned to be bought to the local artesans to provide economic support to the community.

Technical information

Since one of our main objectives was to build our project with the lowest carbon footprint possible, Kox Nuu is structurally made up of a steel skeleton and lightweight concrete slabs, as we need to cover the complete architectural To solve the internal temperature of the project, we proposed annealed brick walls and designed a latticework of the same material so that natural ventilation occurs without inconvenience.
All floors, ceilings and wet areas are finished with polished concrete to save funds on floors and paint, so we try to make the true nature of the materials stand out and be part of the main color palette of the project, all circulation spaces are covered of gravel to avoid dirt dust but still allow the permeability of water to the earth and help the recovery of underground springs.

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