Concept:
This project is for a place to celebrate life with family. To build a space of leisure, a flexible one that can host grand family events but also informal gatherings. We had a big challenge: sort out these different stages on a single architectural plant.
Architectural project:
Program and volumetry
The Nogales Pavilion is located on the main access of the land, surrounded by crops and lush trees. It was planned as a family nucleus to celebrate traditions. In the Mexican northeast, there are several big festivities: birthdays, anniversaries, Easter, the annual "Molienda", etc. It was necessary to think of a free and functional plan, a punctual and efficient architectural intrusion.
To this end, we created two rectangular, compact, and closed volumes. Their goal: provide privacy and conceal the activity that occurs inside. One body houses the bathrooms, the other, the kitchen and bar. Separated from each other, creating the main hallway that connects to the exterior, frames the view, and allows airflow. This approach creates an uninterrupted flow in the Pavilion, giving room and ease to the users' movements.
Both modules are also part of the structure: the beams of the large roof rest on these walls and four small steel columns. The Pavilion's large roof extends the width and length of the entire project, protecting the main floor from solar incidence and rainwater. Answers a previous study of sunlight: the large roof allows the entry of the soft light from the east, while it blocks the incidence of the west. The stone covered the walls, and steel beams and corrugated sheets formed the ceiling. This contrast creates a tectonic harmony that gives character to the project: a solid and stony base and a floating metal roof.
Connection to the countryside
The Pavilion, surrounded by northeastern countryside and the main place for family celebrations, had to be an open space and connected with its immediate context. We used simple and effective design strategies to achieve this without sacrificing shade or protection from wind or rain.
We made elongated openings in the walls in both modules. The height of these long openings is a little shorter than that of the human eye, so the user can directly observe the sunset or the flora surrounding the Pavilion, without being dazzled by sunlight.
The Nogales Pavilion is a project of gathering, a center for family coexistence. This project focuses on creating a warm and flexible space to host celebrations with different capacities and characteristics. The large steel roof and the modular volumetry allow shading, communication, and a free multipurpose plant. Thus, the Pavilion can host from the most casual meeting to the largest and most sophisticated family celebrations.
