On October 21, 2017, 1001 Noches opened its doors.

Located in the former facilities of the Banco de Exportación (BANEX) and on one of the main arteries of Guatemala City, this project -carried out by the multidisciplinary studio Little Coins- responds to the idea of temporary occupation, a new way of conceiving architecture in Guatemala.

The story of this building dates back to the late 80's in the Guatemalan capital, when the architect Antonio Prado Cobos is commissioned to build the facilities that will house the Banco de Exportación de Guatemala. As a result, Prado Cobos created an exposed concrete building that became an icon of modern Guatemalan architecture, putting into practice a structural criterion that is based on road bridges covered by large, bright lights.

The building was finished, occupied by BANEX and abandoned years later.

The renovation occurred when a reputable real estate agency managed to buy the building with the intention of demolishing it to build another complex within 3 years... They wanted to use that period of time to create a commercial / cultural center within the facilities of the old BANEX. Little Coins is hired to create a sustainable and flexible 3-year project, and that is when 1001 Noches (“1001 Nights”) was born as a temporary occupation within an existing infrastructure.

There are several background initiatives that inspired the design of 1001 Noches that are worth mentioning to understand where the idea of this project comes from; signatures such as OMA (24 hr museum), Lacaton and Vassal (Palais de Tokyo) or Marco Casagrande (Taitung Ruin Academy) have previously developed iconic projects within forgotten spaces, focused on assessing the original structures, identifying their spatial qualities and taking advantage of them to contain within them new housing dynamics.

Little Coins initiated the design process in early 2017, including a reuse / recycling strategy which became the cornerstone for the development of 1001 Noches; a recycling that is not only limited to the re-use of the physical structure, but also to the re-use of the materials found inside the facilities: sanitary devices, existing vegetation, furniture, fragments of metals and wood, etc. In this way, recycling takes on a new dimension, since it not only enables the space to contain a new program of activities, but also gives the project raw material to develop new spaces.

Today, approximately ⅔ of the 1001 Noches furniture was recycled (including bathrooms and floors).

The 3-story architectural complex is a place with bars, restaurants, coworking spaces, offices, halls and cultural events, articulated in its center by a central garden that naturally provides light and ventilation to most of the interior spaces.

In addition, the building -because of its nature (an old bank)- has spaces that cannot be found in other buildings: vaults where money was stored, ductwork for the autobank, tunnels and hidden rooms ... all of them commissioned to artists as a blank canvas so they can develop their art. As a result of this programmatic-historical mixture, these new spaces become interesting attractions for the spectator, since they possess a unique, irreplicable character.

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