Pape nature park gateway
Team
Pietro Canova, Martina Dal Pont,
Antonio Camera
Categories
Architecture design
Timeline
2018, Honorable mention
Location
Pape Park, Latvia
Typology
Competition (Honorable mention)
The brief of the competition was to design an iconic landmark at the entrance of the Pape Nature Park located in Latvia. This element had to host all the elements necessary for day-to-day life at the park, including a ticket booth, visitors accommodation, a terrace for campers and a playground for the kids.
The building’s shape was dictated by the project area itself, as it follows the limits imposed by the specific components of the area, adapting to and respecting its position with a structure whose external outline proves to be solid but articulate, and following the landscape and the peculiar field lines dictated by the trees.
Thus, this element finds room for itself inside the context as a piece of an extremely articulated puzzle that is the Pape Nature Park.
The main structural component was chosen in light of the need to find a material that would be easily replaceable in case of damage or wear, have a reasonable cost, be easily transportable inside the construction site, and is closely related to the local culture.
Building with Wood
The choice of the main structural component, in light of the need to find a material easily replaceable in case of damage or wear, with a reasonable cost, easily transportable inside the construction site, closely related to the local culture and that could also be pleasantly inserted inside the landscape, has fallen on wood. Indeed, the structure’s outer layer is covered by easily replaceable wooden slats, which are able to transform the building into a point of reference for the
area’s entrance and, at the same time, a mimetic element once inside the park itself.
The overall shape of the building is defined by the surrounding environment and we created the entrance gate and an open kindergarten-leisure area. The pitched roof reaches its maximum height at the entrance and it has a water collection system. We created three panoramic areas corresponding to the three main views that we have from the site.
As we can see from the main entrance, the structure’s outer layer is covered by easily replaceable wooden slats, which are able to transform the building into a point of reference for the area’s entrance and, at the same time, a mimetic element once inside the park itself.
The foyer of the main building coincides with a multi-functional room that is at the heart of the structure and its main construction element.
Thanks to its multi-purpose terraced steps, the room was drafted not only as a visitor waiting room and info stand, but also as a meeting and entertainment area.
