The competition was created
in order to gather proposals for the construction of an exhibition centre in
Maipú Metropolitan Park in Mendoza, Argentina. It was launched six months ago
and the government of Mendoza is now in the process of granting a building
licence.

Proposals submitted to the
competition were expected to enhance the city as a whole and not stand out as a
single object in the middle of a green zone. The competition winners said, “With
that idea in mind, we conceived of a repetitive, modular project in the form of
city blocks arranged along a pedestrian street. Each module is made up of a covered
enclosure and an open area”.

When designing the centre,
the team contemplated two basic scenarios: the centre during trade shows and
exhibitions, and the centre when not in use. That way, they managed to create
spaces that could be open or closed, depending on the activity.

Mario Corea is an architect
and a professor who teaches first-year students at the UIC-ESARQ School of
Architecture. He currently carries out his professional work at the Mario Corea
Architecture studio in Barcelona and his academic work through giving lectures,
workshops and seminars in Europe, Asia, the United States and Argentina.