San Cristobal Tunnel Control Building by + architects

The building of 482 m2 projected for San Cristóbal Tunnel Concession contains offices and Services Traffic Control Tunnel San Cristóbal. Outside considered an emergency parking area and equipment room housed in a body outside the building. The site is located at the boundary between access highway tunnel that runs along the Cerro San Cristóbal, and calle La Herradura in the field of Pedro de Valdivia Norte. This limit is strongly marked by a difference of levels between the highway and the city (4 to 5 meters approx.), Which led us to design a building with 2 levels, a response to the level of the highway, and the other level access from street La Herradura.

The choice of the material was largely motivated by the “natural” condition of the site. We decided to use materials that do not compete with the surroundings, so that the wood and exposed concrete were major players, in addition to the glass as a building envelope element to the outside of the office.
It was designed from the outset strongly tied to the topography of the site, which largely defined the volumes with which he went to work. We selected a volume of two levels with a wide horizontal roof, which also covered pedestrian access from the parking area for workers.

Another way of expressing the relationship between the building and the environment is given to the treatment of facades. The south and west facade, facing the city are covered in plywood with a natural finish, the North and East walls are covered with glass tape, which allows complete control of what happens on both the highway and in the around the building.