XX de Noviembre Apartment Building
XX de Noviembre Apartment Building
Estudio Hidalgo
LEAD ARCHITECTS
Alvaro Beruben Galvan, Graziano Brau Pani
STRUCTURAL ENGINEER
PONDERA
MANUFACTURERS
Cemex, Comex
ARCHITECTURAL DRAWINGS
Katia Rodriguez, Mariam Cervantes
LOCATION
Guadalajara, Mexico
CATEGORY
Houses, Historic Preservation
The Veinte de Noviembre project is an architectural proposal that seeks to dialogue with the general qualities of downtown Guadalajara, and more specifically, with the tradition of the Analco neighborhood, given that the dialogue is established under the premise of architectural modernity.
The site allows the building to witness a monumental conversation between eras, manifested through materials ranging from stone and brick to steel and reinforced concrete.
Just one block away from Calzada Independencia, it is a participant in the eternal tension between its two sides. It is also indebted to the energy generated by the Plaza de Los Dos Templos, the Mercado Libertad, and the Parish of San José de Analco.
The complex nature of the environment is not hidden from the observer's eyes. The urban tensions that contrast tradition with modernity over several decades make evident a challenging social, cultural, and historical framework for perception.
As an architectural approach, simple gestures are used to become part of the conversation of its context. The ensemble is organized around four volumes of different heights arranged around the central courtyard. The first volume covers the entire width of the property and integrates with the street at a height familiar to its neighbors. It welcomes us with a façade that is only covered with natural plaster on the ground floor.
This allows for a human scale in relation to a sidewalk that has been extended to expand the pedestrian use of public space. The change of material in its walls emphasizes its classical character as a base and sets the rhythm for the windows of the two upper floors.
The entrance is framed within the base and is presented through a gate. Its inclusion as a gesture plays an important role in the preservation of the architectural tradition of the neighborhoods.
Once this threshold is crossed, one reaches the central courtyard, with a pair of twin buildings on each side, each four levels high.
Their symmetry articulates the possibility of perceiving the central courtyard as a domestic cloister, with vegetation that enhances its vibrant nature as the ruling heart of the complex.
At the back of the site is the tallest building, five levels high, which spans the width of the property in the same way as the first volume. Its height allows it to be a part of the urban skyline of Calzada Independencia without sacrificing its domestic scale.
The volume pays attention to the Plaza de Los Dos Templos and can be seen from Prisciliano Sánchez Street. The four volumes are connected by walkways that dance around the central courtyard in the poetic style of an Escher painting.
They accommodate domestic mobility, meaning they give rise to public life within the complex, as the prevailing atmosphere inside is residential. The variation in heights is due to a gradual stepping down from the exterior to the interior of the site, making the impact of the density of the complex more human as it approaches the street.
All rooftops serve as terraces for public gatherings and house kitchenettes, sanitary facilities, and laundry areas. With these spaces, the volumes are crowned with a democratic space, as the capital of each volume becomes a place for collective encounters.
