- Area: 16823 m²
- Year: 2014
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Photographs:Marcos Mendizabal
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Manufacturers: CHC
Text description provided by the architects. The edificatory model contained in the norm of the Decree of the Regulatorty Plan of the Vitacura Municipality for Kennedy Ave. in the section of Manquehue-Padre Hurtado, defines a typology of isolated medium height building, this condition leads us to conceive this commission as an architectural piece which by the addition to others may have the capacity to contribute to the configuration of an urban course on a large scale such as is Kennedy Ave.
The land in particular, its corner condition and its buildable area give us a volume of 9 levels plus mechanical floor, with a height of 35.62 meters., and a plant of 21.30 meters per 36.00 meters; these dimensions produce a rather flat volume that proportionally to its height displaces a considerable mass; Our interest arises from the challenge of managing this condition regarding the city; how to integrate a prismatic volume which performs its activity(services) that throw itself into, with the city?; for this we developed two significant operations: first, to provide the building envelope with relevant degrees of transparency to enable the citizen, the observer to understand , the activity that takes place in the building without thereby lose the conditionsof energy conservation, efficient use of economic resources, which we are obliged due to the high environmental comfort standard required for office buildings.
Consequently, there has been designed a skin type "window belt" between slabs with an exterior structuring made of laminated crystal ribs that replace the traditional aluminum "mullions" on the inside, to the above is added a horizontal division in tranches of two levels alternating the vertical elements of facade achieving a "vibrato" of the south facade, east and north, the degree of reflectivity of the glass in "soft code" does meet the requested standars of the project so the facade contribute to control thermal gain thus reducing the initial investment in climate mechanical equipment.
Towards the west facade the building envelope generates a double skin based on aluminum lattice rotated in relation to the facade plane thus producing a shadow box adequate to be protected against excess light radiation generated by this orientation at the end of the day.
The second operation consisted of set free all the outdoor spaces, first level to public use, eliminating cars from the surface, thus providing the peaton a better offer of accessibility through a continuous succession of spaces such hard squares to the program of commercial stores in this level and in the plinth.
