Cafayate Convention Center. Salta

Our proposal aims to rescue the cultural, physical and environmental values ​​of the region through morphological interventions and the integration of natural materials to the building, wanting to blend in with its surroundings.

For this, the Convention Center redefines its cladding with a historical material typical of the place, such as natural terracotta colored ceramics, trying to emulate the color that surrounds it.

We act by turning the convention center about 45 ° with respect to Route 40 in order to gain better views of the mountain range and enjoy a recognizable silhouette when driving from the route. This turn structures and orders the rest of the linear park that also dynamically leads us from the entrance to the Building.

Through this turn and with walls that extend their cubic limits for both the rooms and the entrance hall, we manage to integrate the fabulous landscape from and inwards.

Long walls that blend into their surroundings invite the user to enjoy the outdoors without losing the privacy of use that these spaces need, at the same time these longitudinal walls protect and limit the service areas such as the visuals of the pre-molding factory.

Both the main room of 600m2, the SUM of 150m2 and the meeting room of 50m2 overflow onto opposite exterior patios covered with vineyards suitable to generate exterior shelter for the events that will take place there and at the same time integrate into the rooms.

The entrance hall longitudinally serves all the rooms together or separately.

The main room has a size of 20x30m (600m2) and can be subdivided with mobile acoustic walls into 3 more rooms of 10x20m (200m2) or a room of 20x20m (400m2) plus another 10x20m (200m2) operating simultaneously.

Also these rooms can be linked to the outer overflow patios. Similar characteristics have the SUM of 10x15m (150m2) that, when located next to the 50m2 meeting room, can join or form a new 200m2 room or 2 rooms of 100m2 through a mobile acoustic wall that divides them.

One of the sides of the rooms is fully glazed, linking the spectacular landscape to the interior of the same, this face can be darkened through 4 black-out type electric curtains, typical Salta color.

With all this flexibility of uses, product of its multiple configurations, the convention center can be used for a great use of events simultaneously, being able to be configured in 13 rooms of different sizes plus the 2 outdoor patios.

The rooms are served with differentiated circulations: one for the public and another for the services.

The box that contains them is acoustically isolated by a solid masonry wall that acts as an insulator of the sound both from the outside and from the sound generated inside them, inside they are treated acoustically by acoustic wood panels as cladding and in an equivalent way with a removable micro-perforated wooden acoustic ceiling.

On the outside, the entire box and the hall walls are covered by a natural red ceramic ventilated façade enclosure, considerably lowering the temperature that affects the walls and thus acting as a low-maintenance passive thermal element.

An area imported from support services and maintaining serves in parallel and independently to the rooms.

Technically the building is solved in the following way: A 5x5m grid orders the building, an independent structure for columns and beams made in situ, precast concrete slabs replacing normal cement with white cement and thus achieve a finer visual finish and These are left visible in common areas and services that do not require sanitary or hygienic treatment, metal structure with a full core to cover the large lights of the rooms, covered by double sheet panels insulated with 75mm fireproof polyurethane engraved without screws.

The electrical energy necessary for lighting is generated through photovoltaic solar panels located on the terrace of the service area, the rainwater is stored in an Australian tank, recovered for sanitary use of toilets and for the irrigation of outdoor spaces, Through the ventilated façade we considerably lower the internal temperature of the building walls, the rooms are naturally ventilated through gravitational ventilation systems located on the roof ridge and heated by air conditioning equipment located in the engine room that it is housed on the toilets feeding them through the ceilings and the returns under the floor. Solar thermal tanks provide hot water to the building.