First Place - AZ Awards - Social Good - Azure Magazine (Canada)
 

El Terreno is a community garden and educational center built uniquely from recycled materials left from our previous constructions.

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The local hill, rich with soil, minerals and stones became a perfect scenario for an urban orchard to grow flowers, aromatic plants and vegetables. A multipurpose pavilion is inserted into the hill allowing for a gradual aperture towards the garden. Sections of iron rods were bent and welded into containing walls filled with stone found when excavating the site. The roof is composed by wooden trusses that come from old concrete formwork. Through only four different modules all the trusses were assembled by volunteers from the community.

Our client is deeply involved in farm to table production of endemic goods and assessed and directed the landscaping project. All products from El Terreno are cultivated through educational programs and sold to local cafes and stores. For us it was important to achieve a 100% recyclable building but also a space built with materials, modules and units uniquely thought out through new processes for this particular project. We focused on avoiding any predisposition for the users when entering this new space intended for plurality and versatility. A space that can only gain significance with the users’ engagement through cultivation and sharing of new ideas that point towards a healing environment.