By Susan Lauterbach
Panama City 1.0 (Present Day) is longitudinal, fragmented, excluded, and lacking in public spaces.
Panama City 2.0 (future) would be exactly what the previous city was not and was not able to achieve. It would achieve this without losing it’s identity nor it’s culture. A city above a city which would provide new opportunities of affordable housing and ample public space. They would be smaller than the average housing but efficient enough to attract people from the suburbs or outskirts of the city. Panama City 2.0 would bring quality and space where it previously did not exist all while conforming to the local climate. (Rainfall or the rainy season in Panama City runs for around 8 months or 240 days of the year.) Panama City 2.0 would succeed where Panama City 1.0 failed.
The chosen building is not a famous or iconic building, but it and many like it in Panama, are located in the city center. It is an opportunity to create affordable living space, reduce traffic in the city center, and create more community space.
The chosen building is located in a central point of the city. A walking distance from the metro station near the Iglesia del Carmen and it’s also near the three main streets in the city, Transistmica, Tumba Muerto, and Via España. It is near the National University of Panama. The building is also located at a walking distance to the banking district.