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.
Iztapalapa: The Latest Architecture and News
The Intersection of Infrastructure and Community: In Conversation with Holcim Award Winner Juan Carlos Cano
La Quebradora Water Park in Mexico: Designing Public Spaces to Improve Water Management
Within the framework of implementing green infrastructure projects for water management in the Basin of Mexico, utilizing existing public spaces, La Quebradora Water Park emerges as the first proposal for hydro-urban acupuncture. The project, developed by the team from the Institute of Social Research at UNAM, coordinated by Manuel Perló Cohen and Loreta Castro Reguera Mancera, aims to transform the site's infiltration into a landmark of good water management, public space creation, and strengthening of the social fabric through four levels: infrastructure, park, city, and viewpoint. Addressing part of the water and social issues facing the area, the proposal transforms urban infrastructure into a public and recreational space for the community in a densely populated area with scarce public spaces.
MX_SI + SPRB Arquitectos Design Papalote Children’s Museum in Iztapalapa, Mexico
A team made up of Barcelona-based firm MX_SI and Mexican practice SPRB Arquitectos has been selected to design the Papalote Children’s Museum in Iztapalapa, Mexico.
Under the slogan “Let’s Make City,” their proposal seeks to integrate the museum with the city and surrounding public space.
Learn more about the winning project after the break.
