Plug-in Pavilion, Valparaíso, Chile

Architectural Design by René Davids and Taylor Medlin.

Plug-in Pavilion, Valparaíso, Chile

Architectural Design by René Davids and Taylor Medlin
Exhibit
Monday, Jan 19, 2009 12:00 am -

Plug-in Pavilion, Valparaíso, Chile features the award-winning architectural designs of René Davids, Professor of Architecture and Urban Design, and Taylor Medlin, MA student in Architecture. The work in the exhibition comes from Medlin and Davids’ entry to the 43rd Central Glass Architectural Design Competition, which won first prize out of 733 international entries. Judged by renowned architects including Toyo Ito, the 2008 competition invited proposals that would encourage visits to the UNESCO World Heritages Sites while simultaneously protecting them from the damage and environmental destruction caused by crowds of visitors.

Davids and Medlin chose the Chilean port city of Valparaíso for their entry, designing wind-powered “plug-in pavilions.” Located atop Valparaíso’s unique ascensores (hillside elevators), the pavilions would provide free electricity to the city’s residents while also promoting a twenty-first century urban revival. The modern architectural plans and digital conceptualizations of the pavilions, superimposed onto black and white photographs of Valparaíso, are both architecturally and aesthetically remarkable.

Read the full project statement here.

Click image to view online gallery.