Vivarium San Isidro
San Isidro, Lima (2018)
Competition
Preliminary Design

Vivarium (Latin for "place of life") is an area, usually enclosed, for keeping and raising animals or plants for observation or research. Often, a portion of the ecosystem for a particular species is simulated on a smaller scale, with controls for environmental conditions…in this case the ecosystem to be simulated for a few years is the “Lima public space”. We think of the Centennial project for the Maristas land as a “nursery of urbanity”. Such as in nurseries where the plants have a temporary condition and -when they reach a stable condition- they are then taken to other places.

The proposal is based on generating with the minimum economic resource a forest of poles that allow structuring a raschel mesh cover to create shade throughout the lot. Just as the crops of yesteryear were oriented according to the slope of the land to make efficient use of irrigation, the 4m wide mesh bands are aligned to the solar path to allow light (and wind) to enter from the north and south and neutralize the sun's rays that pass through the stabilized polyethylene fabric without ultraviolet light, “taking fire away from the sun” as if it were the shadow of a huarango forest.

The project requires the implementation of five different programs: a food hall, an art gallery, an amphitheater, a space for temporary fairs and a children's play area. These are located on the ground based on two basic premises: their compatibilities with the uses of the neighboring environment and their projected durability according to the progressive disassembly of the project.