National School of Theater
TEN Arquitectos

Photo: Luis Gordoa

The location of the National School of Theater has a unique set of contextual conditions.

Two perpendicular highways on the northern and western edges, linked by a circular off-ramp, as well as a metro line, generate continual movements in front of the triangular corner site.

The buildings contain three performance areas and their support facilities, rehearsal rooms, lecture halls, administrative offices, a cafeteria, a gym, scenography studios, costume design labs, and a library.


Photo: Luis Gordoa

The various volumes are unified in a cylindrical shell, clad in curved steel panels, that creates an acoustic barrier from outside traffic and protects the building from the northern winds.


Photo: Luis Gordoa

Photo: Luis Gordoa

The spaces are organized as a series of stacked, individual volumes, unified by shared circulation and meeting spaces.


Photo: Luis Gordoa

Photo: Luis Gordoa

The shell enclosure, supported by bent steel tubes held in tension by steel cables, also allows for covered terraces, performance, and event spaces, blurring the distinction between interior and exterior space.


Photo: Luis Gordoa

Photo: Luis Gordoa

Although the spaces are arranged in terms of their accessibility, the articulated forms represent a model of controlled disruptive order. This contradiction between random appearances and a calculated order creates a paradoxical dynamism among the enclosed forms.


Sketch courtesy TEN Arquitectos

Drawing courtesy TEN ArquitectosSite Plan



Drawing courtesy TEN ArquitectosGround Level Plan



Drawing courtesy TEN ArquitectosLevel 1 Plan



Drawing courtesy TEN ArquitectosTop Level Plan


Drawing courtesy TEN ArquitectosTransversal Section