Costa Rica Legislative Assembly Building
Winning Project 2012 – 2015
The Costa Rican National Congress does not have a building especially designed to fulfill all the requirements to develop their legislative duties. For that reason, during the last 40 years the government has been forced to buy or rent other buildings in order to meet its need of physical space.
The new Congress Building has three main concepts. First, a project that shows Costa Rican idiosyncrasy as a country living in democracy. Second, a building that identifies Costa Rica as a green country committed to sustainable development. Finally, a building that solves their current space and infrastructure problem.
The architectonic proposal is based on the concepts that “verticality is not democracy”, but rather that “democracy is horizontal” in the Costa Rican culture. Therefore, the two towers, instead of being vertical, are designed horizontally. They like ‘fall’ over the city, symbolizing Costa Rican democracy. Metaphorically the building flies over the site plan, reducing the footprint and generating more plazas and other public spaces. Besides, the Congress Hall will be under a big public plaza, reinforcing the concept that the people are always above the congressmen.
This design shows the buildings of the Congress as a “great green bridge” where the National Park is conceptually moved to the roofs of the buildings, thus creating a floating forest in the middle of downtown. The bio-climatic design aims to reduce energy consumption in more than 30% as well as more than 70% of air conditioning. The design shows the use of a natural ventilation system and the installation of renewable power systems such as micro-wind powered towers and photovoltaic panel for solar energy. Finally, the green roof will have a water system to use the rain water in sprinkles, toilets and irrigation systems.
Client
Costa Rica Nacional Congress
Location
San José, Costa Rica
Construction Area
60,000 sqm
Programme
Government Building
Design
Javier Salinas, Carlos Araya, Lou Guthrie, Fabián Alvares
Status
Winning Project Proposal