Market in Quibala

Description

The project for this perishables market in Angola stemmed from the lack of a construction industry in the country. It was therefore decided that all construction materials should be imported from Spain in sea containers.This requirement placed a limit on the dimensions of the project.The solution was to design a 12 x 2.38 m triangular truss to be packed in 2 pieces and transported in 40 ft Open Top containers. All the joints of the structure are bolted, so no skilled labour was needed and quality control only required a pressure gauge.Each 40 ft container could ship 46 trusses, with their corresponding pillars and purlins. This means that one container occupying 30 m2 of floor space would provide 1800 m2 of warehouses to the market.In terms of layout, the basic premise was a 650 m2 market with 38 stalls, which could be easily modified to suit different sizes and locations. This modular design allows for the creation of different entrances for different market areas: food, dry goods, cafeteria, BTH (bazaar, textile, home), etc. It was decided that the design of the large container should not include doors. Instead, the modules were placed in such a way as to create outdoor spaces of an appropriate scale. On the façade, these small squares house outdoor stalls and take-away food kiosks.The building envelope was designed to respond to Angola’s main weather conditions: heavy rainfall and the need for a ventilation system to cool the space passively.The roof is made of corrugated sheet metal, curved to eliminate the cornice and avoid the use of gutters where possible. The folding of the upper sheet opens side ‘eyes’ or skylights that allow natural lighting and ventilation into the units.The front façade features perpendicular louvers that add a colourful character with strong local influences and facilitate ventilation.A porch in the shape of an M – a reference to the word ‘Market’ – houses the entrance gate. The use of powerful graphics and colours helps the predominantly illiterate local population to identify the selling areas.Last but not least, the interior of the market features different types of stalls, depending on their specific needs: display unit, walk-in freezer, store, etc.(Description provided by Equipo 01)