Recognized for completing 36 distinct yet cohesive public projects across Mexico in just 36 months, Colectivo C733 showcases the impact of collaborative design on public spaces and communities. The 36 projects were part of a national effort to revitalize vulnerable urban and rural areas in Mexico, earning them the 2024 Obel Award focused on the theme of "Architectures With". The team behind the designs, Colectivo C733, is a collaborative group formed by the joint offices of architects Gabriela Carrillo (Taller Gabriela Carrillo), Carlos Facio, and José Amozurrutia (TO), along with Eric Valdez (Labg), and Israel Espin. In a recent conversation with ArchDaily's Editor-in-Chief, Christele Harrouk, the collective discussed their approach to public architecture, the process of integrating diverse voices, and remaining flexible to the challenges of local conditions.
Colectivo C733 began as five offices united under the belief that public space has the ability to transform society and help communities imagine new possibilities. Their work is focused on creating free accessible 'cosmic' public spaces. This concept of 'cosmic' spaces has become a guiding principle for the office, originally drawn from Eladio Dieste, who postulated that "architecture conceived for public space should always be logical, efficient, and economical, not in a monetary way, but in a cosmic way." For Colectivo C733, this is translated into an interest in understanding how architecture is linked to local culture, to the site, and to the people using it.
The 2024 Obel Award represents an opportunity to share this story and the important works happening in Mexico with a global audience, but also with colleagues and students, becoming an educational tool at a large scale. Each cycle of the award is dedicated to a specific subject, with this year's theme titled "Architectures With," striving to highlight effective ways in which designers can work together with experts and communities to better respond to local complexities.
Public architecture means a flexible space, a space where many things organized by people from different communities can happen. We believe that architecture needs to be a canvas for many activities to happen and to allow friction. By friction, we mean that forces interact in a space, with different opinions, and different ways of thinking about activities that can promote social benefits. Each different community has different memories and problems that need to be addressed, so public space and architecture become tools for playing a role within those issues, and hopefully helping to move forward. - Colectivo C733
Discussing this process, the team delves into the internal mechanism of designing within a collective, in contrast with a traditional architecture office. By allowing the friction of different opinions and perspectives within the design team, the focus shifts from an individual's ego to a system, a group whose decisions are negotiated and discussed. Gabriela Carrillo shows how this approach has also extended beyond the core team, through an active search for other voices. This included biologists like Louisa Falon, who consulted for the Bacalar interventions or local organizations working towards the rehabilitation of the Tapachula Station. In Ayoxuxtla, the team worked with a teacher, in San Blas, the artisans and hotel owners took prominence. Following these varied interactions, the program often changed and adapted to address problems that were not visible from a top-down perspective.
Because of the short timeframe of each project, the objective of Collectivo C733 was not to incorporate all the voices, but to search for a leading voice and a clear perspective that could guide the process closely. It was also an opportunity to open up the discussion and discover new and different questions that the design can address.
When you are a student, you always think that a project starts when you start to draw, but I think in this case, the project starts with curating the people that would be part of this. - Gabriela Carrillo
In one example, through the influence of these external voices, the Ecoparque Bacalar transformed from the initial proposal to provide a community center to a public dock that expands the opportunities to share knowledge and showcase the value of the natural environment. As Carlos Facio explains, in this case, the decision was that architecture, in this particular case, is not as important as the need to protect nature. Following this decision, the project was canceled two times but restored three times to end up with a project that reflects 'the kindness and knowledge" of the people, becoming a frame from which to observe the lagoon and the life within it.
We live in a very complex and rich country. We like to think that this complexity is the fuel for architecture and ideas. Those difficulties allow us to think of quick answers but profound ideas that can solve those issues and complexities. - Carlos Facio
The idea of 36 projects in 36 months has emerged during the process, not being set from the beginning. The initiative began with an open-call competition for a single project for a public market. As the winners of the commission, Collectivo C733 started to receive more projects of similar scopes. This also expanded the team of Collectivo with new collaborators and experts. Through the process, a methodology of work has emerged, involving also the Ministry of Urban Development in Mexico. Continuing this process, the 37th project turned out to be the most difficult and lengthy one, according to José Amozurrutia. It represents a master plan for a large natural reserve combined with the urban growth of Tulum.
Closing the interview, the team reflects on the future of Collectivo C733, the importance of remaining open and flexible to influences, maintaining a constant dialogue, and continuing the skill set of the larger collective that has formed through the development of these projects, maintaining the particularities of each individual while working together for the larger purpose of creating 'cosmic' public spaces.
