Design: Paz Arquitectura Year of design: 2018 Year of construction: 2018 Construction: CONARQ Logo design: Jimena Pons Gandini Photography: Paz Arquitectura
For the twentieth anniversary of the murder of bishop Juan Gerardi, who had been in charge of the dioceses of Quiche (one of the most affected areas during the civil war) besides being at the head of investigations about the war through testimonies of survivors producing a formal report called “Guatemala never again”, we were commissioned to organize the space where all the documents, files and testimonies were to be kept.
The project is a shelter for archives, documents, and recordings of the testimonies. Besides the storage of such items there is a space for consultations of all the information. It serves also as a space for educational activities, seminars and meetings.
The center is enclosed within an antique building next to the offices of the dioceses and the human’s right department of the church.
In terms of architecture the coats of old paint on adobe walls were revealed suggesting the importance of remembering the legacy of generations that have built the history of Guatemala.