Glaciarium - Museo Del Hielo (Ice Museum)

Glaciers are a powerful combination of natural elements and weather phenomena. The shapes that we chose are simple: horizontal bars with a single sloped roof for the warehouses, vertical prisms for the towers.

Interior spaces are a consequence of these collisions and adjustments.  The building is made of materials that are cheap and fast to assemble: Metal clad warehouses with metal frames, for the pavilions housing the museum´s contents and the hall, and reinforced concrete and Styrofoam bearing walls  for the office and service towers.

Layout

The big hall is the most important element of the ensemble, welcoming the visitors and guiding them towards the pavilions where the actual museum contents are located. It is a long horizontal bar-shaped volume with slanted side elevations, built of corrugated steel and with big glazed openings. The Glaciobar, an ice bar fully clad with solid ice blocks, is located at the basement level.

Construction systems

Two systems were employed to build the Museum.  Metal frames clad in corrugated steel for the pavilions and the main building, and a mixed system called cassaforma, and load bearing walls made of  a Styrofoam core, with a steel mesh and projected concrete cladding, for the towers and the basement. The interior of the pavilions is clad with sheetrock panels, with fiberglass thermal insulation.

Sustainability measures

During the design process the team decided to minimize the impact of the building on the site.
The soil surrounding the building was left untouched. No landscaping was designed except for dirt roads approaching the building from the highway. The radial arrangement of volumes helps mitígate the impact of the heavy patagonic winds on the structure.

Cassaforma has one of the most efficient thermal insulation coefficients Fiberglass insulation was used in the pavillions, and celluose insulation was utilized on the main pavilions. Fresh air will be utilized when possible to minimize energy consumption.  LED lighting devices were used in the main hall, the auditorium foyer and for the exterior lighting.

Type Cultural - Museum

Location Patagonia Sur, Argentina

Building status built

A project by: Santiago Cordeyro Arquitectos

Architecture

Photo Gallery of Glaciarium - Museo Del Hielo (Ice Museum)