This graduation project is located in the Historical Center of Lima, at the “Quilca’s Block”, a place that for years has been one of Lima’s cores for cultural activities. This triangular block or “Quilca’s Block” is placed into a Lima’s sector of popular culture; it is located in the same street axis of the Casona San Marcos and the Parque de la Exposición, both of them active cultural centers of metropolitan importance.
The project responds to the actual demand for a reorganization of the existing dynamics at Quilca; therefore, the project becomes a key part of a comprehensive renovation plan that reactivates this deteriorated area of Lima. The project is configured as a hybrid building, offering cultural, commercial and residential uses. All of this uses gathered into a cluster of seven pieces of land, with a total of 5514 m2, strategically inserted in the middle of “Quilca’s Block”.
“Quilca’s Block” has a triangular form and it is surrounded by three streets; consequently, the building gathers the activities of these streets into a new central street and piazza: a public space that integrates the dynamics of the surrounding streets into a single piazza right in the middle of the “Quilca’s Block”, generating a space for concerts, popular commerce and free art expression.
In 2012, I completed a research in Urbanism entitled “Art and Urban Regeneration: Quilca Jr. (1990-2012)”, under the guidance of Arch. Wiley Ludeña. In the latest years, the only initiatives for its renovation have been from its own neighbors, cultural managers and students; the municipality has never been involved.
The building is the result of a thorough analysis, committed to the place, a cornerstone for the regeneration of Quilca District, which includes specific uses of a dynamic place; and that reactivates an iconic neighborhood of popular culture in Lima.