The Cuban Forum is an investment in material and visual voids to create a new
centrality in the city.
The project respects the potentiality of emptiness, by elevating the square in a
high esplanade : a pathway to the memorial with a variety of functional
possibilities, and a public forum.
Our project capitalizes on the idea of height, based on the topology of the city,
to create a unique perspective on La Havana. The esplanade is an urban
belvedere, surrounded by witnesses of the past as the nearby cemetery, but
which looks towards the future of the city, embodied : to the north by the
university and the port area ; to the south by the green corridors.
But the new urban agora is not limited to the upper forum: entering the new
equipment from the lower plaza, one passes through a museum, a library
space, and a covered market. The public transports and cars go through the
equipment, being covered by a huge park that give breath to the city.
The interior spaces of the museum gradually lead to the memorial. Visual links
and functionnal porosity are created between the esplanade and the interior
spaces through the patios.
Part of an urban ecosystem, our project brings together socially (inhabitants,
students, tourists, workers) and functionally combines (education, memory,
economy, culture) while respecting the freedom of uses. The Cuban Forum is
then a nod to the latin-european tradition of a public space made for citizens’
encounters, debates and economical activities.
