Designed by Alejandro Aravena, We were asked to build a glass tower to host everything that had to do with computers in the university.

The university asked us to question the type of architecture required for teaching now that everything depends on digital technology. Should architecture change now that we have computers" Does the notion of room (be it for work or for attending a class) still make sense" Our answer was, of course, Yes and No.
Photography: Cristobal Palma
Yes because the paradigm for working spaces has been reversed; if until now a good room, was the one that had a good natural light (library, classroom, etc), now that we work on screens, a good space is the one that has achieved a good half-light (to avoid uncomfortable reflections). This fact led us to explore a relatively hermetic volume, with very controlled perforations towards the outside. Photography: Cristobal Palma
But on the other hand, we were not that optimistic regarding computers and their influence in education, or the transmission of knowledge; in the end nothing will defeat a good conversation of two persons (be it between a professor and a student, or between students) under a good shadow, drinking a nice cup of coffee or having a casual conversation in a corridor. In a way, formal education is taken care of by building codes: light, acoustics, ventilation, etc. but nobody takes care of informal education and there we saw a design opportunity. So, instead of moving forward think...