Located in Hershey, a former industrial town on the north coast of Cuba, the fishing pavilion utilizes an aquacultural system to generate an economic foundation for the social spaces it is offering the community. Three courtyards made of rammed earth form the social and structural cores of the structure. Their
different sizes and neighboring functions offer different uses and levels of privacy.
The pavilion is managed by the Hershey Aquaculture Cooperative which is owned by the inhabitants of Hershey who have been involved in the construction process and the maintenance of the structure. The pavilion is constructed of old rail tracks and soil available in the immediate surroundings of the project site.
Courtyard centered design
The courtyard works as the backbone of the building offering social space to the users and cross-stabilizing the rail track grid surrounding them.
Building in stages
The possibility to run a full-scale fish operation can be achieved without building the last courtyard and its surrounding grid. This second stage of the building will be completed when the cooperative has gathered the economy to build it.
Extending the Organoponico
The neighboring garden, also known as an Organoponico, is extended into the site and the agricultural waste used as fish feed. Several planters are also be placed on to of the structure to grow fruit and support the shading.
Shading the structures
To deal with the sun and heat the southern façade is covered in climbing plants. Additional space is also created between the structure and the plants.
Optimizing the flow
The pavilion has bridges entering from all corners to allow direct access from all sides. The west appeals to tourist and outsiders, leading them into the large public courtyard. The other bridges appeal to locals and workers.
Ventilating with wind
The building is rotated towards East-North-East to catch the wind and funnel it through the courtyards to cool them. The open structure allows high-speed winds or hurricanes to pass through it.
Once per year Basin 2 will be harvested and emptied of water. This will leave the basin empty of water for a week and the annual “Dia del pesca”, an event celebrating the harvest, will be conducted as a giant feast after sunset within the basin. After being dry for one week the basin will be filled again to be used as a pool for inhabitants and tourist over the four hottest summer months and the start of the hurricane season.
Due to the sun-shading vegetation on the southern facades, approaching the pavilion from the North will be drastically different than from the South. Tourist approaching the North-East facade (shown below) will have the entire structure exposed. Locals approaching the South-East facade (shown to the left) will see a structure blocked by trees and covered in climbing plants.
To ensure a healthy population of fish the basins will host a polyculture. The five different species of fish have been chosen due to their different feeding habits and in their relation the other fish in the basins. While Basin 1 and 3 are triennial, Basin 2 will be harvested and emptied once per year du to the fast growth of tilapia and giant fresh water prawns.
Basin 1 Biomass
Harvest and Stock
Basin 2 Biomass
Feed
Basin 3 Biomass
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