[RE +] CONSERVATION CENTER
Regenerating Ecosystems with Exchange Paths
The balanced coexistence between human beings and nature is no longer an option, it is an urgent need. In this case, the project requirements demand the intervention of a deforested area. One more trace of anthropic intervention in the Amazon. Throughout history, nature has been devastated due to development models based on the excessive consumption of non-renewable resources; and the Amazon is testimony to this. Until the first half of 2020, its level of deforestation grew to close to 65%.
Such is the damage that experts assure that 2020 will break historical records of environmental damage.
Given this context and the imminent need for an architectural project, it is essential to ask: should anthropic intervention always be synonymous with damage to nature? And, more importantly, can architectural intervention be made a tool to recover the ecosystem?
The project strategies and decisions of the project take these questions as a starting point. Through the longitudinal arrangement of the architectural program on the entrance road, it defines an edge that makes the contrast between the intervened area and nature visible. This linear distribution allows a seam between both sides, by means of the implementation of spaces with which the users will be able to go through the entire project. This distribution of the program makes it possible to dispose of the deforested property as a space for the regeneration of lost vegetation. Although the mere fact of not intervening in this space would eventually make nature recover, the project seeks to go further. Through the implementation of translucent surfaces, the project routes are complemented. Which allows to promote the regeneration of the ecosystem in short, medium and long term stages. Consequently, thanks to the application of these strategies, it is possible to reestablish the ecosystem and recover the enclave produced by the harmful interference of the past.


The [Re +] Conservation Center bases its program on an experiential tour for researchers and tourists, ensuring that the impact on the environment is minimal. Its materiality is made up of a guadua cane structure, scissor-type wooden trusses and covered with shawl leaves typical of the area, guaranteeing its construction efficiency and low cost. Finally, traditional construction methods are modernized to achieve passive thermal conditioning and collect rainwater.
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Contest organized by Design & A Publishers.
First prize.
Inhabiting Collective.
Members: Byron Cadena, Rafael Suarez and Carlos Arcos.
December 2020. Manaus, Brazil