PILARES Cuicuilco Community Center
PILARES Cuicuilco Community Center
TO + +UdeB Arquitectos + AGENdA Agencia de Arquitectura +
ARCHITECTS
+udeb Arquitectos, Agenda Agencia De Arquitectura +, To
CLIENT
Gobierno De La Ciudad De México
STRUCTURAL DESIGN
Óscar Trejo
ARQUITECTOS A CARGO
Carlos Facio, José Amozurrutia, Felipe Uribe, Camilo Restrepo
MECHANICAL AND ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
Enrique Zenón
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Studio Zv
DESIGN TEAM
Álvaro Martínez, Fernando Venado, Sofía Betancur, Úrsula Rebollar, Mariana Brito, Lena Arsenijevic, Luis Gerardo Díaz, Hugo Restrepo
LANDSCAPE DESIGN
Taller De Paisaje Hugo Sánchez
PHOTOGRAPHS
Jaime Navarro
AREA
700 M²
YEAR
2022
LOCATION
Mexico
CATEGORY
Community Center
Text description provided by architect.
The government of Mexico City issued an invitation for a design competition aimed at developing small community centers in different neighborhoods.
The brief called for specific programs to be created based on the demographics, needs, and vocation of the local residents.
UdeB Arquitectos (Colombia), TO Arquitectos (Mexico), and AGENdA (Colombia were each selected to design one of these centers.
After discussions among the three studios, it was decided that a collaborative approach would be the most sensible way to proceed.
Our primary concern was the efficient usage of water resources within the building designs, given the scarcity of this precious resource in Mexico City.
Consequently, the first consideration for all three projects was to feature a butterfly roof that would allow for rainwater harvesting.
Secondly, and with the understanding that we had to develop three projects, we sought to make the projects’ structure and spatial qualities within the urban environment something that could be repeated, requiring our projects to be considered as a system.
According to these principles, we developed a spatial system where the structure is the form that defines and articulates the interior and exterior spaces. Above all, we sought easy access through urban connections while attracting visitors throughout the day.
The structure combined pairs of slender panels of iron and wood, creating a permeable and defined space that was always connected to a thin membrane that was easy to read, while still allowing for diffuse interior space.
Through this structural model, we could provide maximum flexibility to each space, anticipating changes in future uses and ensuring adaptability for various functionalities, as is often required in public buildings.
