QUAGGA - ENTERTAINMENT CENTER
Graduation Project
Exterior render showing the main building and the parking tower (which is the secondary building).
Status: Conceptual Project.
Type: Entertainment
Year: 2017.
Size: 89,815.52 square meters.
Location: Fraijanes, Guatemala.
Design: Wingsee Javier Lam.
Project philosophy is based on the human being searching for the truth about reality. What is real? What is an illusion? Why was this project inspired by those thoughts? When somebody attends to a show reality seems to be altered giving space to feeling like living an illusion. People enter a state of ecstasy that makes them, at least for one moment, shift realities. The main challenge while designing the project was to make them question the space around them, to give people the notion of not being in "just another" building.
Master plan, access and exists are located in the bottom.
The end result was a project divided in three different parts. First one is the parking lot building. Given that the project is located in a city without efficient public transportation, people are most likely to arrive in their personal vehicles, or carpooling. To supply that demand, instead of going underground, the parking lot tower is born. It has 5 levels where 2 of them have different ceiling height so it can be used for a different purpose when cars aren't in them. Second one is the bridge that connects the parking lot tower with the entertainment center. This is a two platform bridge so walking by it isn't so dull, and it has a minor slope to make the connection possible. Third one is the heart of the project, the entertainment center. This is where all main shows take place.
Inside the entertainment center there's a wide variety of spaces. In here we can find: restaurants, retail, art gallery, coffee shops, and more. As to the private spaces we can find: security, offices, administration, artists access and dressing rooms, and more. They all function in a seamless way so the: Main Hall, Exterior Stage and Auditorium work perfectly.
Main hall seen from the third ring.
The main hall has a capacity for 1,291 people and an orchestra of 80 artists. It would be the first orchestra hall in the country. Then we have the auditorium which has a capacity for 412 people divided in two platforms. Last but not least the exterior stage with a capacity for 2,460 people divided in three platforms with perfect visibility to the stage.
Once your inside the entertainment center building you can go anywhere whether you are an artist or part of the public, and this two never cross paths.
As seen on the floor plans the idea is to break the 90 degree axis where its possible. This gives the feeling that spaces are bigger and when you walk them it feels more fluent. Vertical circulations are solved by stairs, ramps and elevators.
Entire project section. On the left the Parking Lot Tower, the middle the Connecting Bridge and on the right the Entertainment Center.
As it can be seen in the section cuts, the project adapts to the terrain as part of a low impact strategy. This doesn't only lower the costs of excavation but it also helps to keeps the ground mostly intact.
