☉ Laboratories of the Cordoba Grain Exchange and Chamber of Cereals is a proposal by Ben-Avid developed in 2023. It is located in Córdoba Argentina in an industrial setting. Its scale is medium with a surface of 1.400 sqm. Key materials are glass and metal.
The building occupies the central sector of the site, resolving on its east side the general access and on the west side the service sector and future expansions, avoiding interference between the movements of the visiting public and the work and technical operation areas. Both fronts are connected by a perimeter street, which separates the building from the densely wooded edges of the site. A single piece is proposed, which integrates the parking areas (one for the public and the other for workers) to the perimeter of the building, shaded by the same roof. In this way, a single element offers protection for pedestrian access, vehicles and the loading and unloading sector, reducing the components of the built landscape to a minimum.
Due to the required programmatic interaction between the laboratories and their various units, the building is developed entirely on the ground floor (with the exception of the reagent tanks). This not only maximises efficiency in operation and maintenance, but also enhances the flexibility of the spaces in the face of possible changes or functional adaptations. The laboratories have a linear organisation, based on a corridor and two porticoes that resolve the work spaces. This highly efficient organisation folds over a central void, creating an internal garden onto which the corridors and public access areas open, creating an interior landscape that characterises the spatial attributes of the proposal. In this way, the project seeks to articulate the necessary functional efficiency of the laboratories with a high spatial quality, typical of an institutional building.