Located in Mexico City, the municipality of Iztapalapa has some of the most densely populated areas within the metropole. Serving a population of 1,800,000 people, many of them with lower incomes, the municipality struggles to provide sufficient public spaces and amenities. In an effort to correct this, the administration set out to take underutilized and abandoned plots of land and transform them for public use. Utopia Estrella is one of these initiatives. Located near Mexico City’s largest water treatment plant, the project combines a socially engaging architectural program with a pedagogical approach to the role of water infrastructures in the larger ecosystem. Designed by Cano Vera Arquitectura, the project has been recognized as the Gold Prize Winner of the Holcim Awards 2023 for Latin America. In a video interview for ArchDaily, Juan Carlos Cano of Cano Vera Arquitectura discusses the impact of this project, its goals, and the unique conditions that led to its development.
Utopia Estrella in Iztapalapa was conceived at the initiative of the local mayor, aiming to reclaim and repurpose abandoned spaces. Located on the slopes of the Cerro de Estrella, a significant hill in Iztapalapa, it is near the largest water treatment plant in Mexico City. The plant, built in the 70s, treats sewage and provides water for industrial use. A large part of the site for Utopia Estrella was a gravel dump, covering over three and a half hectares. The other half is a forest managed by the water treatment plant, representing one of the few large-scale green areas in the municipality. The first phase of the project saw the transformation of one hectare of the existing landfill into a wetland, supplied with water from the treatment plant.
The Utopia Estrella project sits in the middle of this wetland, bridging the forest and former landfill. The built part of the project includes facilities like a boxing school, gym, sports center, auditorium, music school, art school, and social centers for women, the elderly, and drug rehabilitation, ensuring comprehensive social infrastructure for the community. Recognizing its unique location, the project is centered around the theme of water, recreating the wetland and water treatment plant at a smaller scale. This serves as an educational environment, where people can explore the convergence of natural and man-made infrastructures.
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Winners Announced for the 2023 International Holcim AwardsThe construction of Utopia Estrella emphasizes sustainability, utilizing recycled materials from the site's debris. A recycling plant processes rubble to create pavements and building blocks, with non-structural concrete parts made from 100% recycled concrete. This approach not only reduces waste but also demonstrates innovative use of local resources. The project’s design and implementation involve close coordination among the mayor’s office, the Territorial, the design and engineering team, and the community, ensuring that it meets the residents' needs and preferences. Currently under construction, Utopia Estrella exemplifies how large-scale urban projects can address sustainability and social issues while fostering community involvement.
As Jury Chair for the Latin America region, architect Tatiana Bilbao, founder of Tatiana Bilbao Estudio in Mexico City, remarked on the great number of projects submitted that aligned with Holcim’s vision for this award: recognizing and highlighting initiatives that engage with real issues, making steps towards creating more sustainable conditions for both communities and their environment. The choice of the winning project thus became a matter of the scale of impact that the project has. Utopia Estrella Iztapalapa was appreciated for providing a complex architectural program focused on the community's needs while leveraging the water infrastructure to educate them on the larger urban ecosystems.
You can now register on the Holcim Awards 2025 page, where individuals can express their interest and receive notifications when the competition opens.
