Young Architects Program International

Founded in 2008 in Santiago, Chile, by the architects Jeannette Plaut and Marcelo Sarovic, CONSTRUCTO is a cultural organization devoted to Chilean and Latin American architecture, design, and art. It has partnered with MoMA on the Young Architects Program since 2010, and this year’s winning project is After the Dome, by Torres-Reutter-Harada-Straub.

After the Dome is a celebration of summer, the park, and life in the city. It comprises an enclosed public hall of over 5,000 square feet (500 square meters) for new collective activities, with a dematerialized dome 138 feet (42 meters) long, 59 feet (18 meters) wide, and 23 feet (7 meters) high. All structural supports are located on the periphery, creating an open, expansive interior in which nothing meets and everything floats.

Research for the structural system was guided by empirical testing with a number of models at different scales. Early in the design process, structural testing pointed to the benefits of using a vault structure configured with slender elements that appear to be suspended in the air. A lightweight skin and prefabricated lightweight steel components allow for variations in atmosphere inside the structure throughout the day and night.