Curved walls and circular voids create unusual geometries within this university innovation centre in Chile, designed by architecture studio Pezo von Ellrichshausen.
Located at the University of Bío-Bío in Concepcion, INES is designed to inspire the creativity and imagination of its occupants.
INES is located at the University of Bío-Bío in Concepcion
Chilean architects Mauricio Pezo and Sofia von Ellrichshausen hoped to do this by showing how a simple multi-storey building can become spatially complex.
Circular openings in the centre of each floorplate provide vertical views through the building, while curved walls frame separate rooms in all four corners.
The building is constructed from red pigmented concrete
All six storeys are slightly different, as the proportions of the circles gradually shift from floor to floor. The effect is emphasised by a uniform materiality ? the entire building is made from red pigmented concrete, which is visible both inside and out.
Circular openings of different sizes create visual connections between floors
"This is an apparently simple, stable and regular building that contains an unexpected and exaggerated interior," said Pezo and Von Ellrichshausen.
"This is the world of innovation," they continued, "a continuous, fluid and open space that conceptual and physically translates the creative processes of academic practice."
Corner rooms are framed by curved walls
Despite the apparent rigidity of the des...