Municipality of Miraflores: the image of a large area closed to the public

Continuing with the interviews with architects carried out by CARETAS, about the Municipality of Miraflores, Vhal del Solar, a meritorious architect, professor at the Catholic University of Peru and director of architecture publications at the PUCP, answers us. Vhal shares his time between teaching, family and the design and development of projects in his studio, Solar Architects.

The idea of ​​having a cultural space on the first level can be good and I am not opposed to it, the issue is the lack of a good design under appropriate criteria, taking into consideration the internal flows and spaces, properly museographic, but also external flows and accesses to the building. Regarding the first, specialist professionals have already stated that they deserve all the attention to raise the quality of the visitor’s experience. I consider that the biggest mistake is regarding the second, in the accesses to the building and the message that is transmitted through them.

On the one hand, municipalities serve as a civic space, at the service of the citizen. Particularly, Miraflores has always enjoyed this quality, it is widely recognized and constitutes a reference for its peers at the national level. The main octagonal access from Kennedy Park, with its open doors, is an example of openness and transparency, fundamental values ​​that contribute to good municipal management. Not only because they bring the neighbor or user, through their physical movement, closer to the heart of the municipal apparatus, but because the open doors symbolically project that feeling. A closed door represents the complete opposite.

On the other hand, Larco Avenue substantially influences the relationship that the building has with the city. The avenue articulates a tourist axis and is perhaps the most important artery of the district. It imposes flows that determine visual and access aspects, which privilege the corners of the building unlike the plumb façade on the avenue itself. This can be understood immediately when judging the design intentions of its architect ‘Cartucho’ Miro Quesada, not only for having placed an octagonal vertical volume that stands out on the corner but also for the spatiality that it generates in its circular entrance hall below it. : distributes laterally to the main spaces and on the entrance axis there is the main staircase that connects with the offices where officials serve users. It does not require a specialist’s view, anyone can appreciate it the moment they approach the building, whether on its sidewalks, bike path or track, whether by car or public transportation.

The pedestrian flow that runs along the sidewalks of Larco Avenue is famous and is what has managed to maintain the energy and vigor on that commercial axis. That is, walking – even in an accelerated manner – in its longitudinal direction is what occupies a good part of its section. Rest spaces and diagonal visual openings are found at intersections, when waiting at traffic lights, and in adjacent public spaces. As is the case with the building on its corners: from the front on Kennedy Park there is a good space that serves as an esplanade, with access to the underground parking, which privileges its front and main access; and from behind on Diez Canseco Street there is a retreat accompanied by a small adjacent garden, pleasant for the reception of an eventual capacity at the exit of the municipal precinct through its rear access. They are cool places of respite from the accelerated flow of life that runs along their paths. Therefore, the building is best appreciated and accessed from its corners.

As for the vehicular flow, which in this section is quite orderly at the level of the public transportation service, it is one-way. This inversely privileges the secondary rear access of the building on the corner of Diez Canseco. The cycle path between the sidewalk and the track, although it has value for sustainable mobility purposes, in terms of the building, it only increases the perception of speed in its flows in both directions.

That is why the discreet side access, halfway down the block on Larco Avenue, has always been used by staff, when connecting with the secondary staircase and the elevator, or a typical exit when moving through the building. Under no reasonable criteria should it become its main access, either for the cultural offering that is to be installed, or for other uses that may be given on the rest of the levels. The main space should not be crossed by flows that respond to intentions of daily and bureaucratic use.

If you want to convert the first level into a large cultural space that brings together our community, it must be done correctly, understanding the relationship of the building with the city, as well as the design intentions of its creator and the specialists for the purposes intended. wish to implement. The lateral access is not perceived adequately, it goes unnoticed by the passer-by and what is finally left is the image of a large area closed to the public.

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