Manuel Bermúdez Arquitecto csp

The Concept of the BCRC was to design a building that could be fully operational during ordinary as well as during extraordinary times. 

On normal times, the BCRC WILL BECOME A DESTINY that will attract people with different interests to the Caguas Urban Center and will foster the creation of EMERGING ENTREPENUERS. 

The East-West Wing faces Plaza Palmer, the town’s main public space, and contains the public facilities of the building. On the ground floor are located the vestibule, conference room and main activity/coworking: they can function individually or integrated into a single area. On the second floor, are the Café and the Business Incubator Area. During ordinary times, all the working spaces will function fully air conditioned while service spaces will have natural ventilation. The sequence ends in both floors in a garden lobby at the West, which acts as a counterpoint to the Plaza at the East.

The North-South wing faces a secondary street and contains the institutional facilities. On the ground floor, a Community Development Bank is located and INTECO’s Headquarters - the Association of Municipalities which sponsored the building – occupies the second floor. These entities generate a lot of pedestrian traffic that also benefits the Urban Center. 

After catastrophic events, the BCRC WILL CONTRIBUTE TO THE RECOVERY OF SMALL BUSINESSES of the Associated Municipalities as well as PROVIDE BASIC SERVICES FOR THE TOWN’S RESIDENTS. The building utilizes a combination of active and passive strategies to achieve this goal.  Photovoltaic panels and batteries, electrical generator and potable and gray water cisterns will permit the provision of basic power for computer equipment and lighting and use of toilets and kitchenettes. Fully insulated walls and slabs, operable windows, roof scoops and a skylight will provide natural ventilation and illumination to the public and institutional facilities located in the building. 

The project fits in a STRONG HISTORICAL CONTEXT but reflects its contemporary and complex program. A zero-lot line – in three facades - infill building was proposed with a sober contemporary architectural language that maintains the height of its neighbors and captures the rhythm of mass and openings of the adjacent facades.

The project efficiently REDUCES ENERGY CONSUMPTION during normal and extraordinary conditions.Besides the active and passive strategies described, energy efficient equipment is used throughoutthe building: led luminaries with motion detector sensors, individual A/C package units and waterconserving plumbing fixtures. Both Lobbies and the Café will operate 24-7 exclusively with natural ventilation.

BCRC is the first building to be erected fronting the Plaza Santiago Palmer since the 1960’s.