Atacama Agricultural Learning Centre

San Pedro de Atacama educational facility for locals and tourists

2023 | San Pedro de Atacama, Chile

San Pedro de Atacama is a town heavily impacted by tourism and as a result, locals are fleeing and traditional agricultural practices are being lost across generations. Atacama Agricultural Learning Centre aims to bridge the border between locals and tourists, by educating both populations through interactive learning in an attempt to revive traditional Chilean agriculture.

The shapes of the buildings are influenced by the flow of the nearby Rio San Pedro and are elevated to accommodate terraced agricultural plots underneath, which are used to grow flood-resistant crops (ex. barley, wheat, rice) that will help reduce the impact of seasonal flooding from the river. The terraces also include traditional channels that flow between plots, which extract water from the river.