Program: Cultural Pavilion Casa de Suiza.
Location: Mexico City, Mexico.
Status: Built.
Architectural project: Dellekamp Arquitectos | Derek Dellekamp & Jachen Schleich + Andrés Palomino.
Project leader: Jochen Schleich.
Team: José Manuel Estrada, Alice Seban, Gustavo Hernández, Eduardo Cabral, Benoist Rouel-Brax, Laura Alonso.
Renders: Antoine Vaxelaire, Javier Ramírez.
Photography: Adrian Elizondo Lima, Arturo Borjón, Jachen Schleich.
Construction: Metal y Madera.
Lighting design: Luz en Arquitectura.
INSTALACIONES
Electrical installation: Ubaldo Velázquez.
Rainwater harvesting: 3P Technik México.
Plumbing installation: Spl.
Engineering: Ingeniería Estructural (Oscar Trejo).

Casa de Suiza Pavilion comes with the celebration of the seventy years of diplomatic relations between Switzerland and Mexico. It is set in “El Bosque de Chapultepec” landmark, the heart of Mexico City and America’s oldest city park.

Dellekamp Arquitectos began to work on the project without a defined program and site, so a modular system was designed based on a triangular grid that allows adaptation to different sites and changing needs of program, which allowed transformations during design process.

The design of Casa de Suiza abides to the materiality of the original House of Switzerland made entirely of wood, a traditional way of building in Switzerland. The pavilion is designed in modules made of certified pine wood and metal joints, promoting the use of wood as a structural material in Mexico. These modules are derived from the triangular grid, which guarantees and efficient assembly and disassembly of the structure on site. Prefabrication and assembly are carried out by the company “Metal y Madera”.

The pavilion has two levels; the ground floor will have a height of 2.70 m. and the upper floor 3.30 m., for a maximum height of 6.5 m. Its length is 32 m. wide by 18 m. deep, with a rebuff of 343 m2 and a total of 571 m2.

On the ground floor is composed by an open forum, two thematic exhibitions, commerce and basic services; the upper floor has three showrooms.

In addition to the use of wood as a renewable and sustainable material construction, the pavilion offers an alternative to water management.

Rainwater is collected through a siphon system strainers. This water is made drinkable and used in sinks. The sewage is treated and then used in toilets, so there is a constant cycle of water reuse; both actions are reflected in a minimum expenditure of potable water.