Young Architects Program International

Monumental is a temporary structure defined by timeless principles. It is comprised of 100 diaphanous wooden columns in a regular ratio of 1:1. Each column has a circular base of one meter and a vertical extension of 6.4 meters. The columns define a double perimeter line with a void at its core. The structure is made up of two main sections: an external corridor and a central patio. The system is supported by a wooden platform and is partially covered by a roof with a longitudinal opening in its center. The summer sky will be reflected onto this semi-enclosed space through its reflection off of the 35 meter-long water tank.

This structure is also intended to provoke a labyrinth-like experience. It will generate sensual, bodily contact through the veils, transparencies and visual vibrations incorporated, and the overall atmosphere will be defined by shadows, wind and water movements. The proposed structure is a device to arrange a series of basic architectural elements, without analogies, evocations, hierarchies or expressive gestures. By means of a simple and repetitive order, the architects propose an open space—a place without predictable functions. It is a structure in line with the colonial city grid: a rigorous geometry that is naturally distorted by man-made fabrication.