2024 - Nenuphar Cleaning
Pavillion

What if, for once, light would become the moment and architecture would merge into a shadow?
Modern humanity has taken for granted daylight’s existence for most of its lifetime. Immersed in the contemporary trouble
of mechanical living, we have lost the notion of light. From waking up with sunshine through our windows, to sleeping under
the moonlight, or even asking for a little more of it when flicking a switch, light has always been there for us, therefore we
have grown indifferent of it.
In an overstimulated, consumerist, overstuffed and ever-changing world, we have lost connection with our surroundings,
developing artificial needs that disregard our natural tendencies: we have the feeling that daylight has been taken for
granted as it is always there, unchanging, unmoving.
Contradictory enough, light used to have a singular spot next to spiritualism, as it was anciently praised by multiple cultures
and communities. It was often given the virtue of impersonating mystique, eternity and ethereality; it was understood as an
unmatched symbol of power, foreignness and scarcity: for light is, in fact, in constant movement and change. Gothic
cathedrals, arabic mashrabiyas, museums, art galleries and even libraries are proof that architecture and religion tried their
best to make light relevant, meaningful, precious, and often succeeded.
In the spirit of culture revival, we intend to praise light in a public, inclusive, holistic way, without compromising specific
ideologies, reaching a common vision: to share a moment of light and silence in hopes of uniting everyone who needs it in a
world full of shades and noise.
Keeping in mind that we needed a currently unnoticed but accessible location, the intervention takes place on a public
transport station, as public transportation is one of the most chosen ways to move around cities in Latin America. In fact,
around 1.600.000 people travel by metropolitan train every year in Argentina. As the Latin America and Caribbean
Development Bank stated, it is crucial to transform and upgrade public transportation, in order to achieve efficient, clean,
equitable cities.
Once we found our mission, we wondered if light was always there in order to enhance something else, and how could light
become the moment? In which way could we silence everything that surrounds it?
The idea is to “store sunlight in a box” and deliver a moment of light to everyone who finds it. Contemplating the site
position options, our priority is to emulate a journey by leaving the urban scenario, finding something atypical in an
unnoticed place.
In order to continue the urban landscape and create the suspense and silence we seek for, the pavilion takes place
underground. The roof becomes a platform on the ground level that functions both inwards and outwards, since it lets
sunlight in during daytime and projects artificial light out during nighttime. Light is in both manners within reach of a hand