Pedegua village comunity facilities

[jcruiz]

This is a project that I am still working on, for the Petorca Municipality . It is a Community home (Meeting Center for neighbour organizations) The program is relatively simple: A large room for multiple use, two offices, kitchen, bath rooms and services. I added by my account, a pergola-terrace in the second level, that can have multiple uses, and serve as place of encounter for young people.

[jcruiz]

Another view from the north side

[jcruiz]

Another one, from noth east side, in the morning

[jcruiz]

Plan

[franjayo]

It looks very interesting the way the trellis marks the entrance and then goes up to the second level reinforcing the axis. Looks simple and functional, open and inviting. Maybe the large meeting could have doors that open to the patio. It would be interesting to know more of the context where it will be built.

[Juan Gomez-Velez]

Juan Carlos

Some assumptions

This seems to be a Building meant to serve a community that will reach it on foot. The site seems to be a corner lot, where you are thinking of a metal grille fence. The lawn is an overflow, and probably the space you need to leave open due to restrictions as to the size of the footprint in your local building code, which as I remember you telling me is rather strict. And as a community building it is most probably to be built on a low budget. Given that the streets or sidewalks are at the two sides of the lawn, buildings are probably to be had at the other two sides.

Chile is of a rather temperate climate, therefore some protective enclosure must be provided, and large openings although interesting are expensive to maintain in winter. This is a community building, sponsored by a local municipality and paying power, gas and water bills must be challenging.

Some comments and some questions

I feel that your use of the roof is a plus; I feel that the railing is interesting, yet it could become more so if made to be part of the concrete structure itself. Could you extend the parapet to make it a guard and use a single steel railing?

The pergola is a feature used extensively in chilean homes; the contrast in materials and the possibility of having it covered by vines is appealing. Could you also use it as a screen? Perhaps if you brought the pergola down vertically along the smaller patio side you could create a screen from neighboring structures while creating a backdrop for the activities at the terrace. It could possibly sooth any objections to it's use the your neighboring residents could bring up.

Your use of concrete makes this structure more familiar to me. It seems both a reasonable and expressive choice as a building material. I do feel that you could explore this further as a chance of creating interest by using "v" joints or other reveals and indentations in the cement plaster finish. I know they are held to be time consuming and expensive, still I feel they would enliven your facades, helping you define shapes and play with proportions and allow you break up their mass a bit.

I also feel the entrance is much too symmetrical. it also seems rather tight. Could you make it wider by extending the wall on to the side of the staircase, making it seem a bit more enclosed on that side, in contrast with the open railing you have projected there?

Your meeting hall has a side window facing the front patio and a full height glazed opening to the street. Could you create a column support and have the glazed feature wrap around the corner?

You are an eager yet very conscientious designer, with a clear understanding of the building trades and your context. I'm so glad you have the chance to see things built. Any project that gets built is important if only because we can do a just given number of them in our lifetime.

My best wishes to you my friend, keep us posted.

Saludos

Juan

[Juan Gomez-Velez]

Juan Carlos

I hope you don't find this to forward, I took some time to illustrate some of the ideas that came to mind while I commented upon your design proposal.

My best wishes

Saludos

Juan

[Juan Gomez-Velez]

Another view of the pergola as a screen

[Juan Gomez-Velez]

another one

[Juan Gomez-Velez]

Juan Carlos

A final one demonstrating just how transparent it could get. The spacing is 12 inches, it certainly could be made wider. Just a thought.

Saludos

Juan

[cacapis]

Do you really need that extra open space in the upper floor? Maybe you can use the patio and move the pergola downstairs, so you can have a cheaper unaccessible roof for that part. It looks like it's lacking program and it will be forgotten.
Also from the angle and shadow lenght I assume the north is to the corner right? Wouldn't it be better to open up the offices to that side, since it's covered by a porch, and reduce the size of that backyard?

[jcruiz]

In the beginning I made myself the same cuestioning with respect to the pergola terrace in second floor. It was dificcult to justify the cost of a concrete slab, only to give support to a space with no enough clear use. But this idea was maintained, because in other previous projects of communitarian buildings, these seemed small rural houses, used just the days of meetings and the rest of the week remained closed. We wanted to bet by a new solution that attracted people, specially young ones the whole week. So that, I incline to reinforce the idea of this space, furthermore with the magnificent massing scheme sugested by Juan . The building is located in a sunny zone and low rain index. The north is towards the side where appears the access door. For that reason, the corridor, projets protector shading to the office windows, essential point between the months of September to March. Thanks to all for your wise comments and amiable advice.

[spadestick]

keep it cheap and real, yeah!
Architecture is only part of the overall solution.

[cacapis]

In the beginning I made myself the same cuestioning with respect to the pergola terrace in second floor.
Yes, but you're generating that space and leaving the frontyard untouched. Couldn't you propose the same uses you do for the pergola in the ground floor?

[jcruiz]

Absolutely, one idea that happened through my head was that the pergola terrace of the second floor worked like a kind of stage, and that the space of grass in the main level worked as an small square opened to the street. What stops me a little in this idea, it is the fact that there is to protect the building against robberies, and a space opened to the street makes it very vulnerable.

[jcruiz]

Finally two years later, we obtained state financing to start construction.
Structural system was changed from concrete to rustic masonry with concrete reinforcing, without stucco, in order to low budget.

[jcruiz]

Before and after slab concrete pouring

[jcruiz]

Stairs to pergola ,meeting room roof structure , and pergola concrete columns

[behhl]

hi jcruiz, always that happy feeling to see something being transferred from only 'paper' into reality; can I ask what is the final layout - since 2006, now construction has started - is it still the one you originally posted?

Curiousity as to how much was changed, noted the materials changed for costing.

[jcruiz]

The general lay out did`nt changed much. Just we eliminated the front access pergola, and changed concrete structure for reinforced (adobe type)masonry, and steel pergola joists by wooden ones.

[jcruiz]

Pergola

[jcruiz]

stairs to pergola, butane niche, kitchen and service yard

[jcruiz]

Corridor, Patio, West wiew

[jcruiz]

Meeting room, and south side