Honorable mention finalists
64 m²
Project
Sustainable pavilion to improve urban ecology
Category
Area
Status
mextropoli pavilion 2024
context
Innovative place — innovative solutions
/01
Our office with Ariel Rojo was one of six "honorable finalists" among 254 participants from all over the world in Arquine’s competition for a pavilion for the MEXTROPOLI architectural festival in Mexico City. In our search for an idea for the pavilion, we turned to the context, namely the site of the first public park in Latin America. The pioneering place in Mexico City, a city of many millions, gave us the idea of modern solutions for comfortable living. As visitors to the capital city, we noticed the problems of air pollution and that much is being done to improve air quality.
These include the Hoy no Circua program, public transportation, support for electric car owners, expansion of green recreational spaces, control of industrial emissions, and much more. We decided to fantasize about what else we could try without using expensive technological processes and large budgets.
concept
Rich historical heritage, physics and dynamic present
/02
We decided to use the laws of physics, Mexico's rich history and dynamic present to fill its breath with cleaner air.
Adaptive modular scheme
"Breath of Mexico" pavilion has an adaptive modular scheme (which allows to place it in different locations and flexibly adjust the cost of construction), in our case organized in a grid of 4×8 modules.
Shape and Inspiration
The main element is a truncated pyramid, a stylized form of an authentic Mayan house, who used high ceilings and ventilation holes to increase convection and create draughts. Each pyramid in plan is a 2×2 m square, with a unique height optimized to maximize solar energy.
They also allow air to pass through slightly dampened cotton harmonica fabrics (inspired by the unusual pleated structure of the dome of the Palace of Fine Arts, mirrored on the eastern border of the park), increasing the filtration area.
We used climate data at the project location and wrote an algorithm in Grasshopper to find the heights of each of the pyramids. The upper planes of the pyramids are made of sheet aluminum, which rapidly heats the air in the upper part, increasing convection currents.
REALIZATION
Technological approach
/03
Natural materials and UV protection.
Structural solutions
Structural solutions
To protect the fabric from UV we suggest using natural dyes “indigo” and “turmeric”. The gradient on the fabric is supposed to be upward from light to dark, which, along with shades from neighboring pyramids, will also help regulate solar energy. Like cotton, which is actively grown in Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango, and other northern states, the proposed natural dyes have a long and extensive history of use in Mexico. The frame of the modules can be made from rented scaffolding or purchased metal profiles.
Diagonal connections are proposed to be made of metal cables so as not to add visual noise. The horizontal sections of the pyramids are made of plywood (made of 4 pieces with special locks to minimize waste), parameterized so that the central one appears only if the pyramid height is higher than 1.7 m (with the height range from 1.5 to 3m).
Water catchment and climate control
It is envisioned that the pavilion could be used all-season, and rainwater could be collected in tanks located in wooden benches to be used later as water mist to moisturize fabrics and regulate the microclimate. Outside the rainy season, tanks can be filled by city services or connected to water mains. With fine dispersion, water consumption is quite economical.
Dynamics and interactivity
To make the pavilion more dynamic and interactive, we propose to use inside the pyramids ribbons of tissue paper (interpretation of papel picado) that also visualize the movement of air, the "Breath of Mexico City".
