2003
DEL CAMINANTE
Hotel & Commercial Center
Renovation and extension
La Carolina. San Luis Province. Argentina.
Area: 2000 m2
Client: Pena & Partners
original view
An existing large store building, which belonged to an old mine located in La Carolina, was turned into a commercial center and a hotel. The concept to renovate and change the function of this building was to keep the traditional image of thick local stone walls and the structure. As if we had an empty stone box to work inside, four wooden tubes penetrating this box were designed to contain the hotel rooms. The main and larger rooms were located inside three transversal tubes. A fourth tube, placed lengthwise and corresponding with the old hopper, contained the rest of the rooms. Below this tube, on the ground floor, two main entrances were located, one for the commercial center and another for the hotel. This last one was just under the old hopper. The auditorium, a restaurant and stores were also located on the ground floor.