O2 Gymnasium, Territoria Building

by CAZÚ ZEGERS + AIRA ARQUITECTOS

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Architects: Cazú Zegers
Collaborators: Francisco García-Huidobro -  Gonzalo Díaz, José Tomás Pardo - Loreto Becerra - Andrea Pesqueira-  Gonzalo Pérez - Carlos Rosas - Pilar García-Huidobro - Francisca Monreal - Jessica Torres.
Owner: O2 Balance + Wellness Club
Location: Avenida Isidora Goyenechea 3000, Las Condes, Santiago
General Contractor: Pitágora S.A.
Technical Inspection: Coz y Cía. Ltda.
Lighting Desing: Paulina Sir
Materials: Eucalyptus rods and glass
Built Area: 1.825 m2
Project Year: 2008-2009
Photographs: Carlos Eguiguren

The point of departure that structures the original project concept is the building’s name: "Territoria" = territory, therefore the architecture "appropriates" the geography of Chile.

The territory of Chile with its contrasts and frictions is the horizon between the physical and the metaphysical, where the impact of the action of the elements causes friction –a territory that defines the limit between the physical and metaphysical. The South is river thawing, passing from the solid to the liquid state, ice to water. The North is salt flat, space of friction.

The magnitude of the landscape cleanses our senses, opening us up to the experience of contemplation.

The interior design proposes to gather the territory, hence it searches for people to free themselves from their burdens, to arrive at a space that prompts a meditative state of contemplation, where daily stress and pressures are relieved. In other words, to leave the state of "contemporary kinetics", and upon entering the gymnasium, to simply "float".

In this "gathering" of the territory of Chile, its crafts are also rescued: The O2 Gymnasium of Territoria is the perfect mix of hi-tech and objects of natural materials such as horse hair and native wood created specially by craftsmen for the place.