I-CONO is a temporary pavilion that was built by bianchimajer and anna merci in occasion of the festival de arquitectura y ciudad méxtropoli 2018 in mexico city. the festival represents the biggest event in latin america and brings together for 4 days more than 50.000 people — architects, students, locals, tourists, and artists — to talk about architecture and city. the installation is a big conic building made of 20-liter plastic bottles.

architects build a pavilion of 2500 plastic bottles in the center of mexico city
the pavilion is located in calle doctor mora next to the alameda park and surrounded by jacaranda trees
photo by anna merci

 

 

a black wooden trapezoidal entrance welcomes visitors to the spacious interior of the building, where the sensorial perception of light and sound is strongly influenced by the walls. 2500 bottles have been employed for the construction of the pavilion. they have been assembled in 25 concentric circles whose diameters are gradually reduced with every layer: 10 meters for the ground and 7 meters for the highest point, with a total height of 6.5 meters.

architects build a pavilion of 2500 plastic bottles in the center of mexico city
the pavilion was built in front of a rivera murales
photo by anna merci

 

 

once assembled, the containers were filled with water, an element which has both a structural and sensorial role. the weight of the water substitutes the tie beams for the pavilion assembly. at the same time, the water offers visitors a unique sensorial experience where all the exterior elements — light, shadow, sound, and color — are modified and filtered by it.

architects build a pavilion of 2500 plastic bottles in the center of mexico city
the pavilion has been rebuilt at the entrance of huerto roma verde
photo by ricardo jacobo

 

architects build a pavilion of 2500 plastic bottles in the center of mexico city
the pavilion is a blue conic building 6.5 meters high
photo by anna merci

 

architects build a pavilion of 2500 plastic bottles in the center of mexico city
the shadow of the round-shaped opening in the top of the pavilion
photo by anna merci

 

architects build a pavilion of 2500 plastic bottles in the center of mexico city
transparency and blue light at sunset
photo by anna merci

 

architects build a pavilion of 2500 plastic bottles in the center of mexico city
the pavilion has been built around a palm tree
photo by ricardo jacobo

 

architects build a pavilion of 2500 plastic bottles in the center of mexico city
the bottles have been pre-assembled and then transported to the construction site
photo by anna merci

 

 

architects build a pavilion of 2500 plastic bottles in the center of mexico city
I-CONO plan is a perfect circle with a trapezoidal shape entrance

 

architects build a pavilion of 2500 plastic bottles in the center of mexico city
the bottles have been assembled in 25 concentric circles whose diameters has been gradually reduced with each level

 

project info:

 

name: I-CONO

design: bianchimajer + anna merci

sponsor: arquine

constructor: factor eficiencia

photography: anna merci, ricardo jacobo

 

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

 

edited by: maria erman | designboom