Pilares CDMX Lacandones

The three Pilares projects were designed in collaboration with UdeB Arquitectos (Colombia) and TO Arquitectos (Mexico).

Our primary concern was to make the building manage resources, especially water supply. given the lack of this precious resource in Mexico City. Therefore, our initial consideration for the three projects was to repeat a butterfly roof to harvest rainwater. Second, and in the understanding that we had to develop three projects, we sought to make the projects´ structure and spatial qualities within the urban environment as something repeatable, 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 space, above all seeking easy access through urban connections as well as attracting visitors throughout the day.

The structure combined pairs of slender panels of iron and wood, so that the space’s permeability and definition were always connected to a thin membrane that was easy to read although with a diffuse interior space. Through this structural model we could provide the maximum flexibility to each space, anticipating changes in future uses and ensuring adaptability for various functionalities, as often happens in public buildings. The program of each one of the projects was variable according to each place, but all of them were structured around crafts such as gastronomy, blacksmithing, printing, computing, dance and music.

This project reflects our ideas of intermediate spaces, inside and outside, of ambiguous spaces, but made of specific elements. An architecture for the tropic.