ciro najle general design bureau

Inspired in the dynamics of the landscape of the Southern Patagonian Andes, the Ice Museum is a building enclave of abstract iconic significance for the region and enigmatic visual reference at the edge of El Calafate, Patagonian Andes. It is situated on the peak of a long, flat hill with a wide view to the Cordillera de los Andes, the Lake Argentino, and the city below. Its jagged figure constitutes the profile of a new skyline, shiny in the day, bright in the night: a mirage.

 

The building complex is defined by with two interdependent architectural systems. The roof, inspired by the standards of cheap-and-easy construction and the tradition of the Patagonian shed, or galpón, is a space frame structure with an excessively toothed section, like that of a glacier. The ground, characterized by a dark and rocky materiality, is sunk below zero level, organizing variable hierarchies through longitudinal and transversal traces, like those of a moraine.