The Mathes Group participated in an invited competition to design the corporate headquarters for Banco Agricola in San Salvador, El Salvador, based on our prior work in the country. The design was a concrete office tower rising from a retail base, separated by a private garden deck. The site would flow through the structure through the use of plantings and water courses, creating a procession from the street to the conference center. Retail parking was provided at grade, with a secure garage for employees below grade and a helipad on the roof for the bank president. The lower floors were clad in recessed glass to create a pleasant experience for customers, while the tower was designed to show a sense of permanence and security, to demonstrate how the building, and the bank, can withstand the shifting trends of politics, economics, weather, and geology, that make El Salvador.

I created the 3-D models in AutoCAD R14 which were used in creating the perspectives, as well as, the floor plans for the retail base and parking garage. I assembled the competition entry boards and rendered the floor plans with markers. I also designed the patio stone pattern.

location
San Salvador, El Salvador
client/owner
Banco Agricola
area
250,000 sf