Panorama: Glacial water bottling plant

In a remote location in the Queulat fjord, the Chilean architects have completed a reflective, sturdy black box, where the mirrored surroundings become a living ornament.

Chilean architects Panorama have recently completed a glacial water bottling plant in the border of Queulat National Park in Patagonia, three hours away from Cohiaique, Chile, which is the nearest city. Rough terrain and the remote location compromised the logistics of construction and material decisions. It was a challenge for the architects to ensure construction quality and aging because of the tough climate conditions, yet the project was built in four months.

The building houses facilities for a production process which consists of bottled glacial water. The shimmering glass box is 18 x 18 metres and 6 metres high. The four façades are clad in toughened glass with a black opaque coating and a tapered soil base.

Because of the weather conditions, glass offered a good skin solution, while simultaneously reflecting the surroundings. The reflections become a living ornament, framed by an invisible line around the building, but also cropped by its edge, creating a surreal, polygonal image with in a broad landscape, a natural "picture in picture".

Panorama architects, <em>Glacial Water Bottling Plant</em>, Patagonia, Chile — Panorama architects, *Glacial Water Bottling Plant*, Patagonia, Chile

During the winter season the nearby river floods the area, so the 1,5 meter tapered base offers the necessary protection from floodwaters without compromising the volume. The project's design derived from intense contextual analysis of the conditions surrounding the site, and the use of different methodologies to find the best possible environmental solutions for the building, such as the tapered base and the glass skin. The project was intended to be a study on the building's relationship to context. The architects sought to make this relationship something more permanent, less dependent on a fleeting moment.

Panorama: Glacial water bottling plant
Architects: Panorama: Nicolas Valdes Rojic, Constanza Hagemann Muñoz
Location: Queulat fiord, Patagonia, Chile
Built Area: 420 square metres
Planning: 2010
Construction: 2011

Panorama: Glacial water bottling plant

In a remote location in the Queulat fjord, the Chilean architects have completed a reflective, sturdy black box, where the mirrored surroundings become a living ornament.

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