#lab.pro.fab

Tiuna El Fuerte Cultural Park, Caracas, Venezuela (2006)

Tiuna El Fuerte Cultural Park is a self-initiated project by Venezuelan architects Alejandro Haiek and Eleanna Cadalso of Lab.Pro.Fab, Caracas, Venezuela. By occupying underused land at Calle Longaray within the city of Caracas, the project addresses the city's lack of green space and fulfills a need for youth programming. The park infrastructure was built using cost-effective, low-energy technologies. Recycled shipping containers, for instance, were grouped together as modular elements in expandable multi-use spaces. Increasing green coverage in the city was another project priority.

In recent years, the project area has continued to expand, becoming a city cultural park containing offices, classrooms, dining spaces, green spaces and sports areas, and with plans for organized workshops and other activities promoting development in the arts and sciences. Of five planned projects, two have already been completed. There currently exist a store, a cafeteria, administrative offices, a radio station, and a music-editing studio. On a daily basis more than 500 children and adolescents participate in cultural and artistic events in the park.

The artists did not put their hopes in government assistance, but rather relied on civic involvement to promote public art. The project reflects the creativity, cohesiveness and the capacity that is possible when hands join together to improve the social and human environment.

To find out more about their work, please visit http://www.labprofab.com/en