MINUTO ESCUINTLA is located two blocks from the main square of the dense rural town of Escuintla, Guatemala. As a response to the recent poorly organized urban growth, this commercial project is an example of how a traditional urban and architectural intervention rescues the valuable principles of the traditional city.
While many buildings set themselves back from the street to prioritize car parking, Minuto Escuintla locates parking at an underground level, allowing its facades towards the street to form a pleasant pedestrian public space.
Inside, the shops are organized around a double-height covered atrium that functions as a social meeting point and restaurant area. Easy access to both streets that make up the corner of the block, makes this atrium a dynamic, social and public environment for the inhabitants of the city.
A tower rises above the complex to enhance and emphasize the building and its important urban corner, on which there is a major local and regional bus stop. This tower evokes the tradition of towers in Guatemala and particularly enhances the visual connection with the Escuintla Cathedral, Nuestra Señora de la Concepción, a sacred building that dates from the end of the 16th century and is located within walking distance of the project.
Credits
Design: Pedro Pablo Godoy Barrios and María Fernanda Sánchez, Estudio Urbano
Construction Documents: Grupo Tir
General Contractor: Grupo Tir
Developer: Grupo Tir
