{"id":2287,"date":"2025-07-11T10:20:14","date_gmt":"2025-07-11T10:20:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.diamondstatemanagement.com\/?p=2287"},"modified":"2025-07-12T15:06:47","modified_gmt":"2025-07-12T15:06:47","slug":"steel-canopies-and-vibrant-courts-by-amasa-estudio-reclaim-public-plaza-in-mexico-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.diamondstatemanagement.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/11\/steel-canopies-and-vibrant-courts-by-amasa-estudio-reclaim-public-plaza-in-mexico-city\/","title":{"rendered":"steel canopies and vibrant courts by amasa estudio reclaim public plaza in mexico city"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rehabilitation of public plaza at CTM Culhuac\u00e1n by AMASA Estudio<\/h2>\n

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At UH INFONAVIT CTM Culhuac\u00e1n, one of Mexico City\u2019s<\/a><\/strong> largest housing developments, AMASA Estudio has completed the rehabilitation<\/a><\/strong> of a deteriorated public plaza. The intervention addresses long-standing spatial and maintenance challenges common to mid-20th-century housing typologies, focusing on programmatic clarity, material efficiency, and community-responsive design.<\/p>\n

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Located in the southeast of the city within the borough of Coyoac\u00e1n, CTM Culhuac\u00e1n comprises approximately 15,000 housing units built beginning in 1974. Initially intended to serve over 100,000 residents from Mexico\u2019s working and middle classes, the development reflects the social housing strategies of the era. However, as in many large-scale complexes of its kind, shared public areas have since suffered from insufficient maintenance, largely due to jurisdictional ambiguity and administrative complexity. These conditions have led to a fragmented landscape of informally appropriated, neglected, or underutilized spaces. One such space, a plaza near the complex\u2019s tenth section, became the site for a targeted intervention. In June 2023, INFONAVIT launched a design-build tender across four sites in Mexico City. AMASA Estudio, led by Andrea L\u00f3pez and Agust\u00edn Pereyra, submitted a winning proposal for the Culhuac\u00e1n location.<\/p>\n

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rehabilitation of a public plaza at CTM Culhuac\u00e1n by AMASA Estudio | image by \u00a9 Andres Cedillo<\/p>\n

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Reclaiming Urban Common Space Through Programmatic Zoning<\/h2>\n

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The pre-existing site featured aging recreational infrastructure: worn courts, obsolete gym equipment, and peripheral spaces with low visibility. The area was bounded by perimeter walls of two adjacent schools, creating residual zones vulnerable to informal and antisocial use. The design centers on a gabled roof structure positioned at the site\u2019s core. This architectural element introduces spatial order and visual identity while preventing potential future encroachments and maintaining clear sightlines across the plaza. Around this organizing spine, AMASA Estudio reconfigured the site into a series of clearly defined zones: two multipurpose courts, a calisthenics area, a covered forum with seating, a children’s play area, and a 600-meter running track embedded within the pedestrian paths. These components respond to the original brief and were refined through community consultation.<\/p>\n

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Key to the project was the strategic optimization of resources. The design team’s<\/a><\/strong> collaboration with Desarrolladora de Ideas y Espacios enabled cost-effective implementation without compromising design intent. Shared elements, such as structural steel profiles, pigmented concrete, and corrugated metal roofing, were coordinated across all four INFONAVIT commissions, allowing for material standardization and streamlined construction. Landscape improvements integrate permeable surfaces for rainwater infiltration and align with existing pedestrian flows. Accessibility was prioritized by avoiding grade changes and using material contrasts to define circulation and program areas. Color, paving texture, and modular curb transitions help delineate functional zones and improve legibility across the site. This intervention re-establishes the public plaza as a usable and maintained civic space within a historically significant housing development. By addressing spatial neglect through design, the project demonstrates a model for reclaiming underused public infrastructure in similar urban contexts.<\/p>\n

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new program includes courts, calisthenics area, and children\u2019s play zone | image by \u00a9 Andres Cedillo<\/p>\n

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the intervention reorders circulation and visibility across the site | image by \u00a9 Zaickz Moz<\/p>\n

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a gabled roof structure anchors the redesigned civic space\u00a0| image by \u00a9 Andres Cedillo<\/p>\n

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covered forum with lateral seating enables shaded community use | image by \u00a9 Zaickz Moz<\/p>\n

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central structure introduces spatial definition and visual identity | image by \u00a9 Zaickz Moz<\/p>\n

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design prioritizes legibility through color and material contrasts | image by \u00a9 Gerardo Reyes Bustamante<\/p>\n

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modular curbs and paving textures articulate spatial boundaries | image by \u00a9 Gerardo Reyes Bustamante<\/p>\n

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site reconfigured to discourage encroachment and enable openness | image by \u00a9 Andres Cedillo<\/p>\n

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pigmented concrete and corrugated metal define the material palette | image by \u00a9 Andres Cedillo<\/p>\n

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project info:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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name:<\/strong>\u00a0UH INFONAVIT CTM Culhuac\u00e1n<\/p>\n

architect:<\/strong>\u00a0AMASA Estudio<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0@amasa__estudio<\/a><\/p>\n

location:<\/strong> Culhuac\u00e1n, Mexico City<\/p>\n

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lead architects:<\/strong> Andrea L\u00f3pez | @androide08<\/a>, Agust\u00edn Pereyra | @a_pereyra<\/a><\/p>\n

design team:<\/strong> Luis Flores, Gerardo Reyes, Roxana Le\u00f3n, Cesar Huerta, Yanahi Flaviel<\/p>\n

client:<\/strong> INFONAVIT<\/a> | @infonavitoficial<\/a><\/p>\n

construction:<\/strong> Desarrolladora de Ideas y Espacios, Alberto Cejudo |\u00a0@tallercd_mx<\/a><\/p>\n

structural engineer:<\/strong> Juan Felipe Heredia |\u00a0@jfheredia<\/a><\/p>\n

engineering:<\/strong> Germ\u00e1n Mu\u00f1oz<\/p>\n

lighting:<\/strong> Gabriel Brise\u00f1o<\/p>\n

landscape:<\/strong> Maritza Hern\u00e1ndez | @maritzahernandez1413<\/a><\/p>\n

photographers:<\/strong> Zaickz Moz<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0@zaickz.moz<\/a>, Andr\u00e9s Cedillo<\/a> | @pavelin<\/a>, Gerardo Reyes Bustamante | @gerardorbustamante<\/a><\/p>\n

video:<\/strong> Virgilio Cort\u00e9s<\/p>\n

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designboom has received this project from our\u00a0<\/i>DIY submissions<\/i><\/a>\u00a0feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers\u00a0<\/i>here.<\/i><\/a><\/p>\n

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edited by: christina vergopoulou | designboom<\/i><\/p>\n

The post steel canopies and vibrant courts by amasa estudio reclaim public plaza in mexico city<\/a> appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rehabilitation of public plaza at CTM Culhuac\u00e1n by AMASA Estudio   At UH INFONAVIT CTM Culhuac\u00e1n, one of Mexico City\u2019s largest housing developments, AMASA Estudio has completed the rehabilitation of a deteriorated public plaza. The intervention addresses long-standing spatial and maintenance challenges common to mid-20th-century housing typologies, focusing on programmatic clarity, material efficiency, and community-responsive […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2289,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[14],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.diamondstatemanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2287"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.diamondstatemanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.diamondstatemanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.diamondstatemanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.diamondstatemanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2287"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/www.diamondstatemanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2287\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2307,"href":"http:\/\/www.diamondstatemanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2287\/revisions\/2307"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.diamondstatemanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2289"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.diamondstatemanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2287"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.diamondstatemanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2287"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.diamondstatemanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2287"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}