Masterplan
Aguascalientes, a city renowned for its cleanliness and high quality of life, is part of the urban belt of the Bajío region. With its rich cultural heritage, it stands as one of the most prominent tourist destinations in inland Mexico. The primary objective of this project was to transform the area by removing the high-voltage towers belonging to the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) and revitalizing the surrounding zone.
The proposal tackled complex local, urban, and regional planning challenges, offering a unique opportunity to introduce a high-level urban development project in Aguascalientes, while providing the necessary infrastructure. The planning area covers 15% of the city’s total size, marking a significant scale for urban intervention.
A master plan has been devised as an urban revitalization strategy aimed at attracting residents from peripheral areas back to the city center. This plan has the capacity to connect the eastern and western parts of the city, bridging gaps in the urban fabric and enhancing connectivity in the Ojo Caliente area. Key to this strategy is the recovery of underutilized spaces to address the housing deficit and meet future demand.
Two blocks have been selected as pilot projects: the North Block and the South Block, the latter in collaboration with Infonavit and six local and international architectural firms. The conceptual premise is based on a compact and diverse configuration. This diversity is reflected both in the demographic mix of residents and in the variety of facilities and housing options throughout the city. The aim is to create an appealing offer that ensures a high quality of life and comprehensive services at both local and regional levels.
The focus of this project is on the development of social housing according to Infonavit guidelines, with the goal of addressing the housing needs of the state of Aguascalientes and facilitating access to financing for its implementation.
The Block
After the workshop carried out with all the offices that participate in the prototype of the South Block (Dellekamp Architects, Dogma, HHF Architekten, MAIO Architects, MOS Architects and Tatiana Bilbao Estudio) a series of common criteria for the design of the block were established. The general plan is organized as a checkerboard, a grid of full (buildings) and empty (squares) of similar proportions. In terms of public space, the design seeks to interconnect spaces within the block that favor the relationship between neighbors and where different activities can be carried out. In addition, the adjacent linear park is directly connected to the public space of the interior of the block through the main street that connects the east and west districts. This central axis crosses the block creating a corridor in the heart of the complex that is activated by incorporating retail and community services at ground level.
Buildings 4 & 13 – Tatiana Bilbao Estudio
The proposal of Tatiana Bilbao Estudio presents an equivalent housing model for the three typologies of housing required by INFONAVIT (social, popular and market rate housing). The apartments are divided into five areas: access, service center, kitchen, day area and night area.
The central core that contains the apartment entrances and services moves from one side to the other, configuring the different typologies and creating arrange of typologies based on the size of the day-time areas. In response to the high occupancy expected in these homes, all apartments are equipped with two bedrooms and the apartments classified as market rate housing have the possibility of incorporating a third bedroom of equal dimensions without sacrificing the space allocated to the day areas.
Landings on the staircase mark the entrances to two apartments per floor. It functions as a meeting place to foster relationships among the neighbors. It also allows to light and ventilate in a natural way all the service areas of each home.
Each one of the two modules that make up each building has an independent staircase that facilitates access to different levels and resolves differences in level existing on site. The spiral-shaped metal stair slides along the facade, creating a rhythm followed by the openings. This results in a twisting effect enveloping the whole building.
Following the same logic as the stacked apartments and the torsion effect caused by movement in the facade of the staircase, the openings are placed to reinforce the rhythm of the facade and the direction of the stair. To reinforce this gradient in the openings, small terraces are located at the corners progressing the amount of open area as the building gains height.
Security concerns on the Ground Floor and the issue of sun protection in the rest of the levels are solved with the use of an expanded metal mesh that adapts in height and density to each opening, being denser in the first two floors and more open on the last two.
For the point of view of construction, a limited material palette has been selected for this project: concrete block is used both in exterior and interior walls, lightened concrete for the slabs, painted metallic window frames for the openings, and painted metalwork on the staircase and parapets. Whilst in the interiors, pine is used for the timber doors and furniture.
