Cachí Dam
Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE) · Paraíso, Costa Rica · 1966
Cachí Dam is a major work of Costa Rica’s post-war hydroelectric infrastructure. Built across the Reventazón River, the concrete structure and reservoir formed part of a national strategy to expand renewable electricity generation and modernize the country’s energy system. The dam’s architectural interest lies in the direct expression of civil engineering at landscape scale: spillways, retaining structures and access roads reorganize the steep valley into an infrastructural territory. It is a useful counterpoint to the cultural and institutional buildings that dominate most architectural maps.