Location: Monteverde, Puntarenas, Costa Rica
Project Year: 2017
Area: 870 m2

Mercadito Monteverde is an urban food market located in Monteverde, Costa Rica. The area is famous for the Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Preserve, the first private area for the conservation of wildlife established in Costa Rica. It houses 2.5% of the world’s biodiversity and receives over 250,000 visitors yearly.
The site is located in the town of Santa Elena where most of Monteverde’s population lives. The only access is through the public road in the property’s south side. It adjoins a commerce building to the west and a wooded area surrounds the north and eastern edges. The terrain has a mild slope, with the lowest point situated in the main entrance.
Mercadito Monteverde is made up of 10 separate eatery spaces surrounding the main food market area. The enclosure forms a ringed pathway for costumers that separates the dining space and the shops. The roof follows the same geometry as the pathway and has a skylight in the center to fill the space with natural light. A welded mesh is placed in the ceiling from which artificial plants and lamps are hanged. Front and lateral setbacks are taken advantage of and used as outdoor plazas with seating and lounge areas.
The project combines a wide variety of materials. Metal is used for the roof, beams, columns, and handrails, and concrete for slabs and fixed seating. Corten steel and wooden panels line the exterior walls of the shops, and most of the food court rests on a stone wall basing.