UPC_Plaza 0.1 Pisco
Creating the new City of Pisco
Faculty of Architecture, Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas [UPC]
In 2007 a destructive earthquake that measured 7.9 degrees struck the port of Pisco, to the south of Lima. The city was devastated and practically disappeared and, since then, the city and its authorities have started its reconstruction.
This work, however, is a long-term process that will take many years to complete. Within this context, the construction of the public town square in a short time span is a symbolic project that will motivate and encourage the overall town reconstruction project.
The Plaza 0.1 project represents the foundation of the new city of Pisco which has begun to be re-built.
UPC_Plaza 0.1 Pisco
As in most provinces in Peru, the major public place where population gathers is the town square. Usually surrounded by town hall buildings, churches, civil centres and the like, these open areas are used for community gatherings, trade events (weekend fairs) and other civic and religious events.
The architectural proposal seeks to leverage the potential for a city square to be the place where enhanced social, cultural and trade exchange takes place, that is, a geometrically strong and well defined spatial solution.
Borderline trade events define the square shape of the plaza, a virtual structure that works as a filter from the city to the public space.
UPC_Plaza 0.1 Pisco
This virtual structure, in effect, becomes a viewer tower -a new landmark in the city- which will allow the visitor to have an ‘elevated’ view of the growth process that the city has undergone over time.
In the interior, five circles complete the program of social interaction within the square itself; an amphitheatre for various performances, a recreational area and for other unforeseen usages; a civil circle to raise the flag and for other patriotic events; a sitting area for cultural exhibits; and a water disk as a way to massively expand and enhance the existing monument.
The Plaza 0.1 not only represents a remodelling and re-leveraging of the most important public civic centre of Pisco City, but will also be the symbol of solidarity and identity of a community.
UPC_Plaza 0.1 Pisco
