title            verso

location     verso hotel, cerro florida, valparaiso, chile

team          pol taylor + francisco valdivia

date           2015

data           87m2 verseidag membrane, 515 kg steel

 

narrative>> verso hotel was designed and constructed by joaquin velasco arquitects, and sur-face was invited to design and fabricate a membrane structure to provide conditioning for the restaurant on the roof terrace. the design challenge is typical in valparaiso, where roofs afford extraordinary views, but the intense sunlight demands protection, and the often violent winds from the south dispatch all but the most robust shade surfaces and disturb the clients. we produced a design for a highly customized fuselage adapted exactly to the existing geometry, deflecting the south west winds while opening to the bay with signature twin pillars describing a V for verso. the level of detailing of all of the steelwork is highly resolved, and the corner that dips into the double height patio and bifurcates into two articulated cables is a singular moment in the project.