- Project: 3x3x3 Pavilion
- Architect: Esteras Perrote
- Location: Argentina, Cordoba
- Year: 2022
- Area: 72 m2
- Photography: Juan Cruz Paredes
In Villa Rivera Indarte, along the banks of the Suquía River in Córdoba, Argentina, Esteras Perrote has created the 3x3x3 Pavilion—a modular structure that harmonizes with its early 20th-century surroundings while engaging in a dialogue with landscape and memory. The pavilion intertwines with pre-existing elements such as a period water tank, a deep water intake, and a stone boundary wall, creating a space where past and present coexist through architectural language.
Concept and Morphology
The commission called for a light, adaptable intervention that would respect the historic context and natural environment. The architects conceived the pavilion as a linear bar of eight modules, each measuring 3 x 3 x 3 meters, made of steel and extending 24 meters across the terrain.
This ephemeral, habitable structure rests lightly on the ground, weaving between the site’s pre-existing features. Its role is both frame and support—an architecture that connects, reflects, and evolves with its environment.
Program and Spatial Experience
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Inside: A multipurpose interior adapts to changing needs—becoming a bedroom, gallery, or living space. A zoned bathroom opens to both interior and exterior, enhancing flexibility.
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Outside: An empty module projects toward the landscape, functioning as a platform for meetings and outdoor enjoyment, framing vegetation like a living picture.
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In Between: A connective zone incorporates water infrastructure, access to the tank, an outdoor-use bathroom, and a fig tree integrated into the pavilion, emphasizing the continuity of nature and architecture.
Materials and Structure
The pavilion’s steel framework ensures structural slenderness, while aluminum composite cladding (Alucobond) provides durability, low maintenance, and climatic protection. Its anodized finish changes appearance throughout the day, at times opaque, at others reflective, mirroring vegetation and sky.
Interior finishes contrast with this reflective exterior: reused carob wood from an old farmhouse brings warmth, tactile richness, and a distinctive aroma. White walls and strategic openings frame views, reinforcing the connection to the surrounding landscape.
A flat roof extends the linear reading of the pavilion and incorporates water collection to irrigate the fig tree—an understated gesture of ecological integration.
Sustainability and Construction Logic
The pavilion reflects principles of prefabrication, cost-effectiveness, and modular optimization. Materials were selected for durability and recyclability, while the structure’s light footprint minimizes site disturbance. Energy efficiency is enhanced through natural ventilation, solar orientation, and the reflective qualities of the aluminum cladding.
The 3x3x3 Pavilion by Esteras Perrote is more than a modular building—it is a frame for memory, vegetation, and time itself. By blending contemporary efficiency with historic context and natural cycles, the project exemplifies an architecture that is ephemeral, reflective, and deeply rooted in place.
