RIO Culinary School

RIO Culinary School is a proposed culinary arts school in alliance of the University of Puerto Rico as a plan of revitalization of the urban zone of Río Piedras. The school will take part in a main two-story vault space, along with a school-practitioners cafe managed by the students. Additionally it includes classrooms, offices, an amphitheater, relaxation spaces for the students and personnel, walking coolers and a professional kitchens designed for teaching. Above the school, there are 32 student housing units, which are accessed through a private entry. The residences are equipped with its own public hangout areas, laundry and security stairs.

The prefabricated concrete skin, serves as a shield of the blazing Rio Piedras sun and as a contextualizing vessel. In the development of the design, the surrounding buildings facades were photographed and digitalized. The result was a compilation of ornaments characteristic of the Rio Piedras traditional architecture. From these ornaments, a pattern was developed, blending the traditional context with the contemporary intentions of the school.

Main Facade of the Building. The concrete mesh references the ornaments of all the surrounding buildings in Río Piedras.

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