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Architecture



Memorial for the Women’s Prision in Les Corts, Barcelona




Third place in the public competition to design a memorial at the site of the former Women’s Prison in the neighborhood of Les Corts in Barcelona.

Design: Fernando Sánchez Castillo, Valentina Rozas-Krause, Pablo Alfaro, Germán Labrador, Rosa Martínez
Location: Les Corts,  Barcelona
Competition year: 2017-2018


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Memorial
Patio 29




Location: Cementerio General,  Santiago de Chile.
Plot size: 3600 m2
Built area: 550 m2
Year of project: 2008
Year of construction: 2010
Main materials: 3032 pieces of precast concrete

Patio 29, located on the northern end of the General Cemetery, is a place where bodies of victims of State repression were hidden. However, Patio 29 also became one of the first places of resistance against the regime, thanks to its being a sheltered public space.The project sought to protect the original state of the site-monument, while at the same time framing, differentiating and highlighting Patio 29 with respect to its surroundings. Forming a large “L” that touches the East and North of the monument, the memorial is configured as a platform. It is the only projected material intervention. It was decided not to intervene the inside of the polygon of the Patio, contrasting the site through the frame and thus taking advantage of its own symbolic eloquence.The narrowest part of the memorial, in the North-South direction, the memorial is a simple walkway; in the East-West direction, however, it gains amplitude and height due to the lowering of the ground and the distance from the street, which transform the plinth into a stage and a stand. Towards the North end, the memorial transforms into a great staircase, which, due to the positioning of its pieces, becomes a place to stop. In front of the South face of Patio 29, the plinth is vertically cut, which allows for two ways to approach the monument: the seats, spaces for reflection and rest, and the voids, placed to allow mourners to leave their offerings. Finally, the square with the sound sculptures is the only place that maintains the natural ground level. Its aural sculptures and benches make it a place for users' actions, both with respect with the music as well as during potential cultural activities. The whole memorial is made up by 3032 equal pieces of precast concrete, especially made for Patio 29. The pieces, which measure 78 cm by 28 cm and are 15 cm tall, are parallel in their long sides and angular in their width. The angles of the piece are a geometric solution that responds to the angles of the perimeter of the plot. The surface of the pieces is made up by a faceted mesh produced through a CNC system, which in the full horizontal plane of the memorial, resembles a slightly rough sea. Therefore, the Patio 29 Memorial is a monumental plinth made up by a single piece, but at the same time it is a simple urbanized sidewalk with a material quality that differentiates it from its surroundings, contrasting with and highlighting the monument that it frames.

TEAM

ARCHITECTS: Igancio García Partarrieu, Valentina Rozas-Krause, Liliana De Simone, Arturo Torres, Daphne Agosín

DESIGNER: Sebastián Silva

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Parque de la Ciudadanía Estadio Nacional




Location: Ñuñoa, Santiago de Chile
Plot size: 64 hectare
Built area: 18 hectare
Year of project: 2011
Year of construction (first phase): 2013-2014