In the foothills of the Andes, Jose Cruz Ovalle builds a boldly sculptural center for graduate study at adolfo ibanez university

摘要

From its perch in the foothills of the Andes, the new graduate center on the Penalolen campus of Adolfo Ibanez University overlooks Chile's capital city of Santiago. The rugged and steeply sloping terrain, and the majestic mountains, quite naturally provided the architect, Santiago-based Jose Cruz Ovalle, with his inspiration. "The site indicated the way to approach the exterior," explains Cruz, who conceived the reinforced-concrete building as several sculptural volumes emerging from a series of terraced patios. Ramps unfurl like ribbons from the sinuous, stuccoed exterior walls, providing paths from the terraces to the interior. On the upper levels, bridgelike portions of the building connect the various volumes, framing views of both the mountains and the city.