The Fundecor foundation is dedicated to rainforest protection. Its new headquarters in Costa Rica, designed by the Mexican firm PLUG architecture, is a physical expression of its commitment.

PLUG architecture’s design displays impressive simplicity and beauty – a square building with sides 30 meters long, four wings enclosing a large atrium. The shed roof of each wing slopes toward the courtyard, full of trees. A corridor circumscribes the atrium; the rooms are arranged along the outer perimeter of the building, facing the forest. Elevated on stilts, the wooden building floats above the gently undulating green terrain.

Román Cordero from PLUG architecture explains: “In all of our projects we are careful to make buildings that breathe. In this case, the perimeter plan with many openings makes for good passive cooling. With small fans we will be able to move the air enough so that we don’t need mechanical air conditioning.”

Read feature interview in 4th Holcim Awards 2014/2015 (flip-book)