Architects: Alberto Martinez, Guido Villalba, Yago García , tda
Area: 250 m²
Year: 2019
Photographs: Leonardo Méndez
Architecture: Alberto Martinez, Guido Villalba
Tutoring: Yago García + TDA
Structural Calculation: Guillermo Masi
City: San Lorenzo
Country: Paraguay
The Sanitary Complex at the Faculty of Architecture, Design, and Art at the National University of Asunción, designed by Alberto Martinez, Guido Villalba, Yago García, and tda, reimagines sanitary spaces with abstract, rammed-earth forms. Linking the auditorium with the landscape, the design uses local artisanal techniques and modular prefabrication to create double-curved volumes. Raw stone, rammed earth, and concrete materials ensure zero maintenance, while perforated slabs provide natural light and ventilation. Shou Sugi Ban-treated wood doors add durability, emphasizing resource efficiency and timeless design.
A creator is a person who finds unknown aspects in something well-known. But above all, he is an exaggerator.
– Ernesto Sábato
Within the framework of the National Preliminary Contest organized by the Faculty of Architecture, Design, and Art at the National University of Asunción in Paraguay for a block of sanitary spaces, the design embraced a commitment to bold expression.
Concept
Abstraction inspired the design, envisioning three rock-like forms strategically placed to define a new space—a distinct interstice between the solid mass of the adjacent auditorium and the surrounding arboreal landscape. These forms are directly tied to the chosen material, rammed earth, and the design consists of a podium, three rocks, and a cover plane.
Structure
The challenge of designing an artificial rock with authenticity demands an exhaustive geometric exploration—a process that is clear, precise, and above all, intelligent. In Paraguay, limited industrialization turns artisanal methods from a constraint into an opportunity. How can a double-curved volume be constructed with rammed earth? How can gravity be defied using a material historically suited for vertical, compression-based forms?
Imagining constructive elements outside their usual context broadens creative possibilities. Just as the Inuit built igloos with ice, the architects reimagine space using earth from the heart of the Americas. Their initial proposal featured a five-module prefabrication system with specific geometries, enabling various combinations and a wide range of formal and spatial possibilities.
Matter
The design features a containment podium of raw stone, load-bearing red earth walls using rammed earth technology, and a bare concrete slab. The material palette embraces a raw honesty, aimed at achieving zero maintenance from the outset.
Inside, light filters down from above, with slab perforations ensuring soft, ambient lighting and natural ventilation. Doors are crafted from low-density wood treated with the centuries-old Japanese technique, Shou Sugi Ban, providing both accessibility and airflow. This project exemplifies relevance, resource optimization, collective ingenuity, abstraction, and timelessness—a refined expression of deliberate exaggeration.
Project Gallery
Project Location
Address: Faculty of Architecture, Design, and Art, National University of Asuncion, Campus Universitario, San Lorenzo, 111421, Paraguay
Location is for general reference and may represent a city or country, not necessarily a precise address.
