Home » Projects » Centro Cívico y Ciudadano de Talca, civic center

Centro Cívico y Ciudadano de Talca

Location: Talca, Chile
Year: 2020
Status: Project
Area: 51,709 m²
Sector: Public, sports and institutional space · Master plans

Centro Cívico Talca, render of the access to the institutions with a permeable ground floor and open stairs, Talca

Centro Cívico Talca, render of the glazed municipal building from the street, density concentrated on the perimeter, Talca

Centro Cívico Talca, render of the west plaza with the stair that works as an amphitheater, Talca

Centro Cívico Talca, render of the old prison building, kept and exposed beneath the new volume, Talca

Centro Cívico Talca, render from the walkway toward the housing courtyard, continuous routes and open views, Talca

Centro Cívico Talca, render of the housing building with a Chilean wood facade on the corner, Talca

Overview

The Talca Civic and Citizen Center occupies the block of the former prison, facing the Alameda. The program works at an urban scale and includes a municipal building, offices, a convention center, housing, institutions, retail, parking and public space. The design strategy empties the center of the block and concentrates density along the perimeter, so the freed interior is given back to the city.

The ground floor is permeable in every direction. Open sightlines and continuous routes create safety and encounter. The grand stair beneath the municipal building also works as an amphitheater, an example of the flexibility of the whole. Local materials, in particular Chilean timber, tie the project to its territory. The old prison building is preserved and put on display. The new offices sit beneath the side plaza so they do not compete with it.

The housing building proposes a humanist logic based on levels of proximity, accessibility, flattened hierarchies and space for remote work. The buildings are reversible, can be built in phases and have natural ventilation and daylight. The complex opens toward the city and strengthens its urban values.