Cosmic Rays Pavilion: Candela’s First Experimental Hypars - Analysis of Current

The Cosmic Ray Pavilion is a double-curved concrete shell built in 1951 located in the National Autonomous University of Mexico, by the Spanish architect Félix Candela Outeriño, according to the Master Plan of the University City, which is currently listed as Heritage Culture of Humanity. The Cosmic Ray Pavilion was a project designed as a construction-machine, since its objective was not to be inhabited, but to house a series of equipment that would oversee monitoring cosmic radiation, and for its operation a surface with a minimum thickness of 15mm in its centre (where the machine would be positioned), which was constructively difficult for the technological advances of the time. (1951). Over time, the use of the space was modified, the original structure was altered, and adequate maintenance was not carried out on the envelope, which has caused the deterioration of the property. The evolution of the design proposal, the technical details of its execution and the challenges of the construction system were studied to know the current situation of the concrete shell through non-invasive techniques. The results obtained from the study of the structure of the Pavilion contrast with the information from the archive of the National Autonomous University of Mexico. The importance of non-invasive analysis methods in construction systems is discussed, to know the current situation of buildings, and generate intervention strategies that preserve the built heritage of humanity.