Chan-Chan Tourist Station

The visitors’ center serves as an entry and educational center for the archaeological site of Chan Chan, an ancient city that was once the capital of the Chimor Kingdom (4th to 11th century) that existed along the north coast of South America. The visitors’ center is located at the entrance of the Tschudi Palace, the only palace open to visitors among the other eight palaces of the ancient city of Chan Chan. The program includes parking, landscaping , a courtyard, ticket booth, exhibition galleries, cafeteria and shops. The building is schematically organized by a pair of overlapping and rotating congruent grids. The resulting overlap created designates the openings along the wall which are in alignment with the equinox and solstices, framing views towards the archaeological site. Additionally, a reinterpretation of the traditional construction materials such as mud brick, stone, wood and cane allows the building to interact with the history of its surrounding area.