Otica community center in Junín
Semillas- Type Cultural center Culture / Leisure
- Date 2019
- City Junín
- Country Peru
- Photographer Marilisa Galisai Eleazar Cuadros
Semillas, a Lima-based firm set up in 2014 by Marta Maccaglia, conceived this multipurpose gathering space as a large covered plaza. Intended for the Ashaninka indigenous community of Otica, it is located on the banks of the Tambo River, in Peru’s central jungle. The development of the project involved participatory workshops, in pursuit of an architecture that would incorporate community input. The 230-square-meter building stands on a strip foundation of stone and cement, which is raised over the ground as protection against floods, and also to serve as stands outside and inside, forming a rectangular amphitheater. The timber structure holds up a gabled roof made of undulating fibercement sheets. To the north, a module built with concrete and brick contains a kitchen, an office, and a crafts workshop unfolding on two levels.