Archinect - News

MoMA exhibition on 20th-century Latin American design is a 'gem' says Michael Kimmelman

2024-04-05T13:31:00-04:00

The show is a gem. It focuses on domestic design from six countries (Colombia, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Chile and Venezuela), produced between 1940 and 1980. Latin America had entered a period of transformation, industrial expansion and creativity. Across the region, design was becoming institutionalized as a profession, opening up new avenues, especially for women.

Critic Michael Kimmelman has heaped praise on the 'Crafting Modernity: Design in Latin America, 1940–1980' MoMA exhibition in a new piece for The New York Times. As we reported in December of last year, the show looks at the growth of modernism through an industrial and entrepreneurial lens, using a selection of examples from well-known and revered architects and designers such as Joaquim Tenreiro, Lina Bo Bardi, and Oscar Niemeyer.

"The role that women and immigrants played in shaping professional design and developing a national design vocabulary in Latin America will be emphasized, including the work of designers such as Clara Porset in Mexico, Cornelis Zitman in Venezuela, and Susi Aczel in Argentina," MoMA said about their exhibition at the time.

Fernanda Canales talks to the New York Times about designing better social opportunities in a challenged Mexico

2024-03-04T13:22:00-05:00

“Without opportunities for social interaction, places are more insecure, divided and isolated [...] How can you provide value to a landscape that is neglected? How do you provide an opportunity to see your town in a new way?”

Against a national backdrop poisoned by femicides, border politics, and the equally toxic influence of cartels, Fernanda Canales is making democratic life in underserved Mexican communities more feasible through her highly user-sensitive and socializing designs.

The Mexico City-based architect tells the New York Times' Sam Lubell of her contributions to the government’s $2 billion Programa de Mejoramiento Urbano (or P.M.U.) program, "They will survive local circumstances — issues of budgets, politics and vandalism," adding that "Over time, the public starts to make decisions and inject life. Things change and adapt. Time teaches us what prevails. Often it’s what we can’t imagine now."

Canales was also one of a century profiled in RIBA’s new 100 Women: Architects in Practice, which came out in January and has been reviewed favorably as an essential guide to future equality in the profession. She has been teaching at the UT Austin School of Architecture since the Fall after seeing ...

Alejandro Aravena to deliver the new home of the School of Architecture, Art and Design in Monterrey, Mexico

2023-09-21T12:30:00-04:00

Pritzker laureate Alejandro Aravena and his firm ELEMENTAL S.A have been announced as the project leads to deliver the new home of the School of Architecture, Art and Design (EAAD) to the Monterrey Institute of Technology (ITESM) in Mexico.

The scope of the new Classrooms 10 project entails a new building at the Avenida Junco de la Vega that will house the school’s Architecture, Design, Digital Art, and Urbanism programs, all of which are currently spread throughout multiple facilities at its Monterrey flagship campus. The university also operates 21 satellite campuses across Mexico, though no plans appear to be in development for any of their locations.

Aravena visited the campus in late August to workshop the idea with students and faculty at the university. Dean Rodolfo Barragán says the project will leave “a place with urban significance” that integrates ITESM’s presence with Monterrey’s Central Park while “highlighting and giving meaning to the activities that will be appropri...

Archaeologists discover long-lost ancient Maya city

2023-08-04T14:56:00-04:00

In a biological preserve in Mexico’s Campeche State, a team of archaeologists has documented pyramids, palaces, a ball court and other remains of an ancient city they call Ocomtún. [...] The Mexican institute described the site, in Campeche State, as having once been a major center of Maya life. During at least part of the Classic Maya era — around 250 to 900 A.D. — it was a well populated area.

"These cities had been lost to time. Nobody knew exactly where they were," Dr. Ivan Šprajc, the Slovenian archaeologist who led the discovery of the previously unmapped 8th-century Maya city in the Mexican jungle, shared with BBC Travel. "But this [Ocomtún], was actually the last major black hole on the archaeological map of the central Maya Lowlands (the modern-day central Yucatán Peninsula). Nothing was there. There was not a single known site in an area stretching some 3,000-4,000 sq km."

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Several museum expansions and design research projects among National Endowment for the Humanities grant recipients

2023-04-25T13:34:00-04:00

The National Endowment for the Humanities has announced the awarding of $35.63 million in grants for 258 humanities projects across the United States. As with previous years, the 2023 edition of the grants includes funding for several architecture-related projects, including buildings and research.

Architectural projects to be funded include the William A. Farnsworth Library and Art Museum, which will undergo a schematic design process for an expansion and renovation to its Rockland, Maine center. Meanwhile, the Shelburne Museum in Vermont will use the funding to design and construct a new Perry Center for Native American Art on its campus.

The Shelburne Museum, Vermont. Image credit: Flickr user Tolka Rover licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission has received funding for preparatory architectural works for the renovation of a new Research & Learning Center at the Eckley Miners’ Village Museum in Weatherly, Pennsylvania, while the National Orn...

New 3D printing housing factory aims to cut construction time by 50 percent

2023-03-28T12:51:00-04:00

3D printing construction technology startup Mighty Buildings has offered a first look inside their new factory in Monterrey, Mexico. As part of the company’s mission to develop and construct “climate-resilient, carbon-neutral homes near points of need,” the factory is reportedly capable of producing the components for an entire home during each day of operation.

Image credit: Mighty Buildings

The factory will produce homes using a blend of material science, robotics, and automation. Components for the homes will be 3D printed using Mighty Buildings’ concrete-free composite stone material, which is 30% lighter and 15% less expensive, and five times stronger than concrete. The company also claims their homes will be climate-resilient, carbon-neutral, and resistant to severe weather conditions, including hurricanes and earthquakes.

Image credit: Mighty Buildings

The components printed in the factory will form part of the company’s existing Mighty Kit System for prefabricated housing and ...

Mexico is planning a new museum at Chichén Itzá

2023-03-21T11:53:00-04:00

The museum, which is still in the planning stages, will replace a much smaller building that closed more than ten years ago. It is likely to follow in the museo de sitio (site museum) model found at other complexes managed by the federal Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e História (INAH). Carlos Esperón, the director of the Maya Museum in Cancún, in the neighbouring state of Quintana Roo, tells The Art Newspaper that work on the museum “could take two years.”

Meanwhile, the Art Newspaper is reporting that several finds taken from the disputed new Maya Train project’s construction will be displayed at the new museum, which is the third most visited cultural site in Mexico. Some experts had feared it would eventually become at risk over the number of visitors interacting with the 1,500-year-old space.

The new museum will apparently be built away from the UNESCO-protected site's monumental area on the other side of a highway so as not to risk any further damage. A section called Chichén Viejo which had previously been off-limits will also be made public as part of the construction project. Costs are expected to exceed US$14.4 million.

Pininfarina’s first Mexican residential design gets underway in the Yucatan

2023-03-07T12:12:00-05:00

Pininfarina has just shared an update on its new Light Towers luxury residential project in Mérida, Mexico.

The development broke ground last Wednesday with local politicians in attendance to celebrate the beginning of construction on a project the firm and developers Branson say represents a "path forward; a nod to new ideas, fresh perspectives, and hope for future generations."

Image courtesy Pininfarina

Featuring a V-shaped pair of 17- and 18-story volumes connected at the base by a five-story podium, the design centers a "green valley" at its core to create a communal space with private terraces, wellness amenities, and a co-working space all entwined with the building’s concept.

Image courtesy Pininfarina

A total of 121 modular "Skyvilla" condominiums come with configurations that offer between 25% and 75% of their total floor areas to greenspace. Interior color palettes used in the residential units evoke local traditions, the design team says.

Image courtesy Pininfarina

Image c...

San Diego-Tijuana selected as the World Design Capital for 2024

2023-02-21T17:41:00-05:00

The World Design Organization (WDO) has announced a cross-border combination of San Diego, California and Tijuana, Mexico as the official World Design Capital for 2024.

The designation was bestowed “as a result of their commitment to human-centered design and legacy of cross-border collaboration to transform the region’s natural and built environments,” according to the WDO. Their selection marks the first time in history that a binational urban region will share the honor that was first established in 2008.

Both cities boast their own stock of significant architecture (The Salk Institute and Geisel Library in San Diego; various monuments and the CECUT Cultural Center in Tijuana) and will leverage the title in order to pursue a slate of dispositive investigations into issues impacting the built environment in both communities under the banner HOME2024.

“In today’s socio-e...

Pelli Clarke & Partners completes the tallest building in Mexico City

2023-01-23T11:01:00-05:00

Pelli Clarke & Partners has completed Torre Mítikah, the tallest building in Mexico City. Situated in the city’s Coyoacán neighborhood, the 877-foot-tall residential skyscraper is described by its designers as a “window to the heavens.”

Image credit: Jason O'Rear

Externally, the sleek tower features a gently curved taper on the north and south facades. The design approach for the form centered on creating a “timeless quality with a strong sense of stability,” and drew inspiration from the “Axis Mundi” concept: an imaginary vertical axis linking the earth and sky.

Image credit: Jason O'Rear

Inside, the scheme provides 1.1 million square feet of residential space composed of three different types of living space. While the tower's base is occupied by multi-story townhouses, the mid-levels house two and three-bedroom apartments. The upper levels are devoted to luxury penthouses with indoor gardens, exclusive terraces, and heliport access.

Image credit: Jason O'Rear

News of the tower’s com...

MIT Mextrópoli installation provides a critical exploration into the use of sustainable construction materials

2022-09-28T14:50:00-04:00

A new architectural installation from MIT’s Norman B. Leventhal Center for Advanced Urbanism (LCAU) for the Mextrópoli Architecture and City Festival in Mexico City is leveraging the school’s recent innovations in materials research to weave a narrative about the centuries-old capital through four materials: paper, wood, earth, and concrete.

With the help of collaborating artist Marisa Morán Jahn, faculty members Sarah Williams, Caitlin Mueller, and Rafi Segal worked to create two pavilions for the installation that is meant as an invitation to visitors to explore the city’s history and future potential under the title Sueños con Fiber/Timber, Earth/Concrete.

Image by Future Urban Collectives

Photo by Marisa Morán Jahn

Photo by Walter Shintani

Photo by Rafi Segal

The first pavilion, Fiber/Timber, repurposes the city’s iconic wood Montaña Rusa rollercoaster in a form inspired by the colorful Pre-Columbian art practice called papel picado, which again offers itself as a portal to the ci...

Activists claim censorship as Mexico City plans to replace feminist 'anti-monument'

2022-08-22T14:16:00-04:00

Residents of Mexico City are decrying a decision by officials to remove a statue protesting gender violence that had been mounted by activists last year. El Universal reported that Claudia Sheinbaum, who serves as Head of Government in Mexico City (a position akin to a state governor), had made the call to remove the feminist “anti-monument.” The statue currently appears in a roundabout in the city, and will soon be replaced by another monument

Sheinbaum has previously announced the commission of artist Pedro Reyes to replace a colonial-era sculpture by Frenchman Charles Cordier that depicted Christopher Columbus in light of the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples protest last summer.

Previously on Archinect: Christopher Columbus statue to be replaced by a monument to Indigenous People in Mexico City

Reyes’ commission was quickly scrapped in favor of an “anti-monument” that debuted in its place on the roundabout in September, prompting officials to almost immediately announce it would be supplanted by a recently-discovered pre-Hispanic relic titled The Young Woman of Amajac. Now the non-hierarchical group behind the protest piece says Sheinbaum is dishonoring what has become a symbolic site for feminist causes nationwide.

“The government trying to take back anti-monument spaces is another way of them trying to silence us,” Ceci Flores, founder of the group Searching Mothers of Sonora, recently told Courtho...

Monterrey, Mexico is the latest city to employ a full-time Chief Heat Officer

2022-06-17T14:45:00-04:00

In time for the start of summer, the global fraternity of Chief Heat Officers has grown as cities decide to commit themselves to full-time professionals from the subfield of public design in the face of mounting challenges caused by climate change.

The city of Monterrey, in the Mexican state of Nuevo Leon, recently announced architect and urban planner Surella Segú as the first-ever head of its new civic office, which is being funded through a partnership with the Atlantic Council’s Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center (Arsht-Rock).

Surella Segú. Image courtesy Harvard University.

The 2018 Harvard Loeb Fellow is the principal and co-founder of EL CIELO, an 18-year-old practice with a focus on housing and urban renewal, and the former head of the Urban Development at the country’s Institute of the National Housing Fund for Workers.

A graduate of the Columbia University GSAPP and the ITESM, she now holds the fifth official CHO title under the Council's new City Cha...

Pininfarina unveils new green luxury tower design in Mérida, Mexico

2022-06-17T13:28:00-04:00

Pininfarina has released project images of their Light Towers design for a new residential development in the metropolitan city Mérida along the Yucatan Peninsula.

According to the architects, “The structure will consist of two distinct buildings rising 15 and 17 floors high, connected by a five-story base to form a v-shape. Anchoring the heart of Pininfarina's concept, a green valley fills the open-air core of the vertical community extending upward from the base of the structure––embracing the development’s Mexican roots and symbolizing the path ahead; a nod to new ideas, fresh perspectives, and hope for future generations.”

The new Light Towers for developers Branson will be Pininfarina’s first branded project in Mexico. The firm’s chief architect Samuele Sordi calls is at “a pivotal moment in its growth,” adding that “we look forward to leading the way with an example of how a multidisciplinary design approach can create a thoughtful balance between urban density and sprawl as t...

Archaeologists discover well-preserved Mayan city in the Yucatán peninsula

2022-06-02T17:10:00-04:00

Archaeologists of the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (Iphan, the Mexican federal bureau that oversees cultural heritage projects) have unearthed a remarkably well-preserved Maya city in the Yucatán peninsula near Merida while examining a construction site for archaeological artefacts.

The site is called Xiol, which is believed to have been occupied by more than 4,000 people between 600 and 900 AD. It consists of nearly 100 structures with features related to the Mayan Puuc style, an architecture characterized by carefully-cut veneer stones set onto a concrete core, with façades decorated with intricate stone mosaics and geometric elements.

According to The Art Newspaper, similar examples of Puuc architecture have not been discovered in this region of the Yucatán. The structures are thought to have served as palaces and ritual sites. The archaeologists also discovered a cenote, freshwater underground pits, carved stone heads, ceramics with religious symbols, burial grounds with various objects, and marine artifacts.

Video via Global News on YouTube.

The discovery of Xiol, along with other archaeological sites in the region, can be attributed to increased development in the Yucatán. A controversial multi-billion dollar train line called the Maya Train is currentl...

A millionaire's scheme to build a home for his art collection inside a public park is drawing ire

2022-01-20T13:37:00-05:00

A Mexican multi-millionaire is building a replica of his northern Mexico mansion to serve as a museum for his art collection, an endeavor criticized because it is funded in large part with public money.

The millionaire in question, Mauricio Fernández Garza made his fortune selling beer and petrochemicals, which facilitated the collection of art and ancient fossils now valued at around $120 million. Garza was the three-time mayor of the tony Monterrey suburb where the house is located when plans to use public funding to fund up to 60% of what is essentially a vanity project. Garza’s original plan cost around $18 million before being reduced in scope to around $9.7 by new mayor Miguel Treviño, who defeated him in his latest bid for the position.

The mansion is named after a character in literature and was itself the apparent subject of a 2008 book about its owner’s transformative effort to mold a private residence to his liking. The result of that process is now being dismantled and reinstalled in a large public park nearby — including four 14th and 16th-century ceilings totaling $50 million acquired in a deal with his successor.

FBR's Hadrian X block-laying robot to construct up to 5,000 homes in Mexico

2021-11-03T17:20:00-04:00

FBR, the Perth, Australia-based robotics company behind the Hadrian X block-laying robot, has announced that it has signed a term sheet with GP Vivienda, the housing division of one of Mexico’s largest construction and real estate development companies, to supply its “Wall as a Service” (WaaS) for between 2,000 and 5,000 homes in Mexico.

As per FBR’s statement, the company will also supply all associated retaining walls and other brick and block structures on one or more greenfield residential development sites in Mexico following the completion of various required milestones. The milestones include receiving confirmation that FBR’s Hadrian X and Fastbrick Wall System are compliant with all relevant codes and regulations in Mexico, the completion of a collaborative commercial model, the completion of a pilot building program of 20 homes in Mexico with the Hadrian X, and the easing of Covid-19 travel restrictions.

FBR’s WaaS will supply the blocks and construct walls onsite to the s...

OMA's new pedestrian bridge aims to lead the Mexican city of Jojutla on a path to the future

2021-09-23T19:48:00-04:00

Four years removed from one of the worst natural disasters in Mexico’s history, one small city in the state of Morelos is ready to bridge the chasm between past tragedy and future optimism thanks to the efforts of one New York firm.

Image courtesy of OMA New York

OMA has announced that it will be developing a new pedestrian bridge for the city of Jojutla to coincide with the anniversary of the devastating 2017 earthquake that left much of the city in shambles, and many of its residents to question the viability of the community long term.

Image courtesy of OMA New York

The project is the latest addition to OMA’s ongoing public space and resiliency push that includes a comprehensive post-Hurricane Sandy water use strategy for Hoboken, New Jersey, and the 11th Street Bridge Park development in Washington, DC.

Image courtesy of OMA New York/CCA, Model and Photography by CCA

The new bridge represents OMA New York’s contribution to the region’s ambitious recovery effort. Jojutla has beco...

The new U.S. Consulate General Matamoros announced as a winner of The Chicago Athenaeum's 2021 International Architecture Award

2021-09-14T13:42:00-04:00

The Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations’ (OBO) new Consulate General project in Matamoros, Mexico was awarded The Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design’s 2021 International Architecture Award. It joins a collection of some of the world’s best new buildings and urban planning projects from over 35 countries.

The Chicago Athenaeum, alongside The European Center for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies, organized this award program to honor and recognize international projects that stretch the boundaries of architecture, regardless of style, complexity, and scheme and budget size.

Within the Government Buildings category, the U.S. Consulate General in Matamoros was designed by Richärd Kennedy Architects and constructed by B.L. Harbert International with Page Architects as the architect of record. As stated in the U.S. Department of State’s release on the award announcement, the building was recognized “for its superior design leadership and pioneering architectur...

Christopher Columbus statue to be replaced by a monument to Indigenous People in Mexico City

2021-09-07T15:41:00-04:00

As part of an International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples celebration in Mexico City on Sunday, Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum announced a major new addition to a space in the city’s historic Paseo de la Reforma recently vacated by a monument to its colonial past.

Artist Pedro Reyes has now been commissioned for a replacement of a monumental bronze sculpture depicting Christopher Columbus by the Frenchman Charles Cordier that has moved around the city to its eventual place on the historic boulevard since being inaugurated by the controversial President Porfirio Diaz in 1877.

The statue was removed in October of last year in advance of the Dia de la Raza, a holiday that has in recent years drawn protests marking the arrival of the infamous colonizer in the Americas.

Reyes’ commission will depict an Indigenous woman from the Olmec civilization and come with a title that refers to a Uto-Aztecan word for “land.”

CallisonRTKL is bringing biophilic design to its latest airport project in Mexico

2021-08-18T17:08:00-04:00

Mexico’s second-largest city, Guadalajara, is getting a brilliant new biophilic airport terminal courtesy of CallisonRTKL.

The 1.2-million-square-foot Terminal 2 expansion project promises a stress-relieving, traveler-friendly design and is also aiming to become one of the only net-zero airport terminals anywhere in the world.

Image courtesy CallisonRTKL

Featuring elements that pay homage to various local inspirations, the new terminal includes hotel-quality amenities like an in-house spa, art gallery, and gym. A sanctuary space will be open as well in addition to added greenery which makes for a more fluid and enjoyable user experience, according to the architect.

Image courtesy CallisonRTKL

“There is pressure to be more responsible towards the environment, which has increased over the last couple of years,” CallisonRTKL’s Sustainability team lead Pablo La Roche said in a June interview to Lampoon. “The airlines themselves as well as the airplane manufacturers are trying to make thei...

SO-IL unveils photos of social housing project in Mexico

2020-09-03T13:04:00-04:00

New York City-based SO-IL has nearly completed work on the six-story Las Americas social housing project in León, Mexico that aims to offer a new "prototype for the development of vertical dwellings" in the city.

The project, created in partnership with Imuvi Development and the City of León, aims to counter the ubiquitous, sprawling detached, single-family social housing communities that have taken root across the country in recent years.

As construction on the project continues, SO-IL has unveiled photos taken by Iwan Baan on its Instagram page highlighting the structure.

The architects aim to do this by introducing vertically stacked condominium units to the city's social housing efforts in order to create a marriage between existing affordability and ownership models. Describing the project, the architects write, "Resonant of the traditional home’s sense of privacy, no two units face one another. Units are arranged in a single-loaded corridor to face the courtyard and provide...

Arquine Prepares For Their 7th Annual MEXTRÓPOLI Architecture and City Festival

2020-02-20T13:13:00-05:00

This post is brought to you by Arquine

Update: The festival has been rescheduled to Sept 5th - Sept 7th 2020

The seventh edition of the MEXTRÓPOLI Festival of Architecture and City will address an unavoidable issue on the urban planning and architecture agenda: the climate crisis.

If a few years ago we asked ourselves in MEXTRÓPOLI about the possibilities of the future as a capacity of political imagination, today it seems that the question is reduced to the possibility of any future. It seems alarmist. Maybe it is. But we must not forget that behind the "I want you to panic" approach of Greta Thurnberg, there is still a call of hope: I want you to act.

Densification, water, and population are factors that are also important when thinking about the present and future of our cities, especially under the risky context in regards to the climatic conditions of the planet. For this reason, the MEXTRÓPOLI Architecture and City Festival will reflect on a fundamental theme that will allow us...

Section of US-Mexico border wall topples over in high winds

2020-01-30T10:00:00-05:00

A newly erected section of the border wall on the US-Mexico border toppled over in high winds this week. The section fell over onto the Mexicali, Mexico side of the border just across from Calexico, California. Luckily, no one was injured due to the failure.

According to local agent Carlos Pitones of the United States Department of Customs and Border Patrol, the wall had been recently installed in fresh concrete footings that had yet to cure, CNN reports. The area has been battered by strong winds this week, with gusts reaching strengths of up to 37 miles-per-hour, according to the National Weather Service.

The scene could be a sign of things to come, should presidential contender Bernie Sanders be elected. At an event in Iowa last week, Sanders, who has been a vocal critic of the wall project and has vowed to disband the Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, hinted that he would be open to possibly tearing down the wall, VICE News reports, though only if it was not p...

Arquine announces winners of the MEXTRÓPOLI 2020 Pavilion contest

2020-01-21T19:33:00-05:00

As preparation for the MEXTRÓPOLI 2020 Architecture and City Festival taking place in March gets underway, the festival organizers have announced the winners of a pavilion contest held in conjunction with the event. The international competition, led by Arquine, called for architects and designers to submit their best proposals for a temporary pavilion to be located within Mexico City. According to the competition brief, participants should aim to create a structure that would generate creative discourse surrounding the themes of innovation and sustainability. Proposals should also create an open public program that builds a place for the interaction between architecture and citizenship.

The contest's powerhouse jury consisted of Tatiana Bilbao, Ruth Estévez, Carlos Facio, Alberto Odériz, Saidee Springall, and Alejandro Tapia. After reviewing and evaluating 292 proposals, the group selected its winners.

The jury awarded Gastronmic Palapa by Sabrina Morreale, Lorenzo Perri (Lemonot S...

ICON & company fight homelessness in Mexico with 3D-printed village

2019-12-13T19:08:00-05:00

New Story, a non-profit pioneering solutions to end global homelessness, in partnership with Mexico-based ÉCHALE, have announced "the world's first 3D-printed community" in Mexico. The first set of homes have been revealed. Each coming in at 500 square feet, the innovative structures were printed in a total time of about 24 hours over the course of several days.

ICON printed the homes using their Vulcan II 3D-printer, which is designed to function in rural areas. Families living in makeshift, unsafe shelters and living in extreme poverty will be granted the homes and reside in the village which is due to grow to a total of 50 printed dwellings.

Each will feature two bedrooms, a living room, kitchen, and bath, and were designed in collaboration with the future residents who will occupy them. With safety in mind, the structures were engineered above the regulated standard of safety to ensure longevity and security in the seismic zone of Tabasco, Mexico.

The 2019 AR Emerging Architecture Award goes to Comunal Taller de Arquitectura of Mexico

2019-12-06T19:03:00-05:00

With 16 architects announced as shortlist winners back in October, the Architectural Review has announced Comunal Taller de Arquitectura as the winner of Architectural Review's 2019 Emerging Architecture Award.

The Mexico-based architecture firm was applauded for a project submission that focused on their community-driven work within the rural village of Tepetzintán in Mexico. According to this year's AR judging panel, the practice was recognized for its "fight against a political lobby that is vastly supportive of replicable, commercial housing development over housing seen as a human right."

Comunal Taller de Arquitectura recieving the award for 2019 AR Emerging Architect Award. Image courtesy of WAF via/Twitter

Founded in 2015 in Mexico City by Mariana Ordóñez Grajales, who was later joined by Jesica Amescua Carrera, Comunal Taller de Arquitectura focuses on building in Mexico's rural and indigenous communities. The duo explained to AR during an interview that "architecture is n...

New border wall commences in South Texas despite landowner resistance

2019-10-25T12:36:00-04:00

...construction workers on Wednesday began building the first new border wall in South Texas just south of the town of Donna...it will connect to an existing border wall that was built in 2008 under the 2006 Secure Fence Act. On Sept. 29, CBP in partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers awarded a contract to Gibraltar-Caddell Joint Venture for up to $296 million to build 22 miles of noncontiguous border wall starting east of Santa Ana.

The new construction has prompted concern from locals in the area, as the work has begun on private land.

According to Border Report, "many other landowners in the region have so far refused CBP access to survey their lands, and have not sold their properties for wall construction."

Ancient Mesoamerican ball game returns to Mexico City with new community center

2019-10-21T18:51:00-04:00

500 years after being banned by Spanish conquerers, the ancient pan-Mesoamerican ball game of ulama is making a comeback in Mexico City, where a new community center focused on reinvigorating indigenous cultural traditions is taking root.

Los equipos Texcoxo y Cemayan Nepanolli dan una demostración de Juego de Pelota precuauhtémico, durante las actividades de inauguración de la Escuela Comunitaria de Artes y Oficios Xochikalli. Este es el primer espacio para la práctica de este deporte. pic.twitter.com/7MbvaPxkdG
— Azcapotzalco (@AzcapotzalcoMx) March 12, 2018

A new ulama ball court measuring 30-feet by 120-feet was completed in 2018 at the new Xochikalli community center in the Azcapotzalco neighborhood of Mexico City, according to NPR. The community center is designed specifically to host and propagate a collection of pre-Hispanic traditional practices that include xilam—an Aztec martial art—Nahuatl language emersion, and ancient farming techniques. The game is also known as tlac...

32 architects and firms design social housing prototypes for an experimental community in Mexico

2019-09-04T07:00:00-04:00

INFONAVIT, the federal institute for workers housing of Mexico, is the largest mortgage lender in Latin America. Founded in 1972, the Mexico City-based institute has played a critical role for families across Mexico attempting access decent housing. The institution, along with MOS architects, has launched an experimental housing research project with the help of 32 prominent architects and firms. The project, masterplanned by MOS, aims to create housing prototypes that reflect up-to-date thinking in the realm of social housing design as well as examples of promoting a better quality of life for its inhabitants.

The low-cost housing prototypes are built within the City of Apán, in the state of Hidalgo, Mexico. After being constructed, the houses are now undergoing testing and evaluation to help validate the research project's goals of equitable social housing. Participants include Mauricio...