Design: Ramon Cordova Gonzalez and Signe Pērkone

Visualizations: Perspectivas Javier

The mixed-use development is located in the outskirts of a small city, on the main road that connects it with the coast. The flow of cars is constant and faster compared to the center of the city. The proposal begins as a response to this condition. Firstly, a street that invites the vehicles to drive in was created. The street is oriented in a way that makes the incorporation maneuver feel natural while, by a change of material in the ground, invites the drivers to slow down. This allows to have a closer exposure to the commerce spaces that appear on the sides. The first line of commerce is composed of small retail such as cafes, restaurants and boutiques and it intersperses with the existing vegetation, keeping the larger components like cinema/theater, gym and clinic in a second line. This creates a particular scale, much more human than the regular commercial retail that prevail in the region. In order to maintain the scale, the car park was positioned behind the commerce, out of sight. Finally, at the very center of the project, there are a set of palapas (open-sided structures with a thatched roof made of dried palm leaves) that can be used in various ways, from a craft market to spaces for meeting, or exhibiting local artists work.