All Residential Commercial Institutional Planning Public Space Adaptive Reuse

Carretta Pavilion

Work Completed while at Sasaki Design
Photos by Jane Messinger

The Carreta Pavilion is a small, flexible pavilion at the heart of the Tec de Monterrey campus. It functions as a gateway to the University, a crossroads, and a folly in the garden. Placed within a shaded garden, the pavilion is designed as a highly flexible, open, transparent, and minimal structure, approachable from all sides. The steel and glass building envelope is designed as a series of operable doors that can seamlessly retract to accommodate a variety of uses: from an informal and spontaneous space for 50 persons to a more formal lecture hall with media intensive lectures for 450.

The pavilion’s structural grid lines are derived from the modulation of the surrounding campus buildings. The enclosure of the pavilion is defined by 15’ tall glass pivot doors surrounding a long, single story floor plane. The pavilion has columns embedded in the glazing enclosure and benefits from a large pergola that lessens solar gain and filters daylight. With the ability to open entirely to its surroundings, the structure transforms into an open-air shelter in the heart of the campus.