El Chorrillo in Panamá City is home to practitioners in a number of arts – theatre, painting, dance, music, and literature – which lend to this district and its community a unique identity. A linear and slender urban infrastructure is proposed to house an art academy, with transparent façades that reveal the stories that unfold inside. Suspended above the city, the building acts as a lightweight screen at the boundary of this community, on which unique stories on Panama City's culture are projected. This linear infrastructure transforms indoor activities into outdoor experiences. A sequence of singular spaces contains unique artistic and cultural narratives and acts as a kind of archival display case. A semi-outdoor public art gallery and art shop run throughout the building as a connecting platform, merging surrounding urban and natural landscapes with internal exhibitions. A footbridge over the highway connects the gallery with an open-air sculpture park to enhance the experience of both visitors and students. By bringing together community life and art education in one building, the proposed art academy aims to bring new vitality to El Chorrillo.
