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Architects: HADVD Arquitectos
- Area: 10662 m²
- Year: 2015
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Photographs:Oscar Hernández
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Manufacturers: Interface, Aluminio y Tecnologia de Chihuahua (Al-tech), Berridge, Grupo Cementos de Chihuahua, Herman Miller, Interceramic, Ladesa, Magg y Tecno Lite, Muro Móvil de México
Text description provided by the architects. Opened on October 2015, Technology HUB is a one-of-a-kind innovation and entrepreneurship community without parallel in any of the binational metropolitan regions along the U.S.-Mexico Border. Located within a five-minute drive from the International Bridge of the Americas, across from El Paso, TX, it is a 1.8 acre complex housed within the buildings of what used to be the Consulate General of the United States in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. Technology Hub has over 600 ft of frontage road facing Avenida Lopez Mateos, one of the busiest corridors in Ciudad Juarez.
With over 55,000 sq. ft. of built space and incorporating design elements commonly found in the global innovation hubs like Silicon Valley and Boston, Technology HUB is a beacon of the emerging innovation economy in Ciudad Juárez and a catalyst for its growth. Its three main buildings encompass a mix of spaces and functions designed to inspire collaboration and creativity. These include offices of varied sizes, meeting rooms, kitchens, a roof garden, a virtual reality demonstration facility, an auditorium, a green room, and a Fab Lab. In addition, more than 4,500 sqft of coworking space help connect the community, freelancers and entrepreneurs. The complex also includes two additional flexible spaces, including a bike & coffee shop, and a restaurant.
Flexibility is embedded throughout the space. The interiors accommodate events of all sizes, from small corporate meetings to large entrepreneurship summits. Offices are made with glass walls to create a sense of openness. The multiple leisure spaces and recreational zones in each building intend to foster creativity and boost productivity, including playful elements such as a slide and a fireman’s pole.
A cold, closed and somewhat intimidating space was turned into an open, eco-friendly, creative and modern facility. Both in its interior and exterior, the repurposing of the building sought to preserve its legacy while reusing materials and existing elements of the old construction. In the interior, old concrete walls, and armored windows and doors, were preserved or repurposed in creative ways to create a more open and welcoming space. Organic materials such as wood, concrete, and ironwork can be found throughout. Its exterior façades, built with hammered concrete, gray stone and concrete walls were kept almost in their entirety, with a new, contemporary character added by enveloping structures of perforated sheet metal. More than 70% of the front metallic fence was repurposed from old fencing that was used to secure a section of the former Consulate.
With its remarkable physical transformation and programming Technology HUB has become the go-to place for anyone seeking to turn ideas into reality. It houses over 60 businesses, events as wide-ranging as pitch competitions, art shows and hackathons, and has become a gathering space for the entrepreneurial energy that is transforming the local economy and breathing new life to an abandoned neighborhood.
