Centro Communitario

Washington University in St. Louis | Graduate School of Architecture and Urban Design

ARCH 512 | Comprehensive Architecture Design Studio II | Gerardo Caballero & Gustavo Cardon | Autumn 2015

Conceptual Strategy

Establish community anchor points connected by a network of usable spaces that blur into one another, providing enriching cultural spaces for interaction, commerce and relaxation.

This project addresses the need for public services in an under-served sector of Buenos Aires: an informal settlement in the neighborhood of La Boca. The proposed intervention seeks to establish community anchor points of classrooms that are connected by a network of gathering spaces that weave into one another. They provide enriching cultural spaces for interaction, commerce and relaxation. Construction technique validates informal construction materials and can be built and modified by community members in time.

typical brick and concrete construction technique

Site Strategy

A field that spans two city blocks along an edge mediating between highway, levee, and an industrial riverfront.

Organize the community center so that it both physically and conceptually bridges between the informal settlement to the south, industrial structures and cultural centers to the west and along the river coast, and the larger community of La Boca further to the west. The expansive character of this project contributes to the project’s sense of permanence by providing the infrastructure necessary to build upon. By incorporating more land into the project, it claims the land as a community asset, and further enables enhancement of the neighborhood.

Large walls guide the visitor through the site. They help to curate views, anchor the park into the context, as well as fold to form spaces. These walls create links between enclosures that provide auxiliary space for various programs and recreation.

Each building can be used as a stand alone building, with its own organizations and own hours of operation. However, through a similar mode of construction, the collection of enclosures become unified, acting as a larger resource for community members.

The buildings are outward focused, unlike the informal settlements that are inward facing. Nevertheless, similar to informal settlements this cluster of enclosures are organized in order to generate exploration and discovery through the complex. Spaces are layered and not necessarily exposed all at once. One must spend time in the community center for the spaces and opportunities to unfold.

Structural Strategy

Through the misuse of vernacular building technique, this project acknowledges community members’ construction abilities as an asset. By building in a way that those living in the informal settlement are familiar with, the construction of this project can employ members of the immediate community. In doing so, the community begins to take ownership of the project, thus promising a greater chance that the project will be embraced and taken care of by the community. Further, this building technique communicates to all of Argentina, that this way of building, typically seen as sub-par, is credible and can be optimized for refined design. It validates and supports informal housing.