Work
Project
Trade Fair Pavillon
- Location: Rosario, Argentina
- Typology: Institutional
- Completion: 2001
Coauthors
Secretaria de Planeamiento
Mario Corea
Collaborators
Paula Campra
Soledad Loyola
Juan Munuce
Diego Nakamatsu
Structure
Bis Arquitectes S.L.
Installations
Utges
The celebration of regional and international trade fairs is a principal component of the globalized economic system and the construction of facilities to hold such large-scale exhibitions is a common urban strategy. For the city of Rosario, the center of the metropolitan area of Greater Rosario, the development of such a complex is of vital importance.
The building was conceived as a ‘container’ 300 meters long by 150 meters wide, protected by a single undulating roof with an asymmetrical curve in each module enhancing the creation of large glazed areas that provide natural light as well as ventilation.
The interior of the building has been approached as a discontinuous concavity due to the effect generated by this roof. Clearly differentiated areas on the ground floor contain all the accesses, facilities and installations necessary for the organization of trade fairs. The exhibition level above is unfragmented, open and versatile in order to accommodate a wide variety of uses. Both levels are connected by ten circulation cores composed of escalators and lifts. Parking lots are located on the exterior of the ground floor to serve participants as well as employees, with loading zones for trucks carrying materials for the exhibitions.
The place established for the location of the trade fair pavilion is on the border between the city and the countryside. This strategic position is important because it forms part of a territory where diverse infrastructural and other types of development projects on a metropolitan scale converge with an ensemble of parks and natural reserve areas.
The proposal for the structure of the building arose from the understanding of the site as a kind of topography: a huge surface area that would dissolve in the immensity of the landscape, leaving an almost imperceptible mark.