One of the objectives of the Arias Foundation for Peace and Human Progress is participating in the resolution of conflicts through the exchange of ideas and consensus building. This objective, together with the demilitarization processes in Costa Rica, Haiti and Sub-Saharan Africa, is one endeavor personally promoted by Dr. Oscar Arias Sánchez, former President of Costa Rica and Nobel Peace Prize winner in 1987. Costa Rica abolished its army in 1949 and has become an international standard bearer for peace and democracy. This is well earned, since it boasts more than one century of democratic life. With this background in mind and responding to a direct petition by Dr. Arias himself, I developed this project on a property filled with symbolism in downtown San José: facing the Democracy Plaza and the National Museum building, former General Army Barracks.

The building would house the offices of the Arias Foundation for Peace and Human Progress, including the full program of the International Peace Center, rooms for negotiation, rooms exhibiting war and peace mementos, to name a few. Between the Plaza and the lot, the project contemplates a foot traffic lane and creates a tree-lined atrium joining the Plaza to the upper street. An ambiance of clarity and transparency characterizes the space that this building will have, expressed within this Plaza, with a roofline featuring extended, overlapping eaves.

BRUNO STAGNO ARQUITECTO Y ASOCIADOS
Design: 1996
Constructed area: 4,800 m2
Property area: 1,500 m2
Location: San José, Costa Rica

BRUNO STAGNO, architect
CARLOS ARAYA, assistant