werk, bauen + wohnen 9 – 2025

Those who do not know the Mexican capital probably think of it as a chaotic, concretefilled, arid, and dangerous metropolis. While this is not entirely wrong, it is only partly true. When we arrived in the 22-million city in mid-April, we learnt about a different side almost immediately: it was raining in torrents. In fact, the rainy season is usually in June, but the rain accompanied us every day throughout our week-long research work. In practical terms, however, this served to clear the skies of big city smog. In the many conversations we had with local architects we discovered that water shortage is a serious problem—despite the rain and even though the Aztec city Tenochtitlan was built in the middle of a lake. Mexico City is also greener than one might expect—idyllic, densely planted parks interrupt the extensive city blocks to form a chequerboard pattern. In contrast the informal districts outside the centre present a rather different pattern: large open spaces and treelined avenues are for the most part lacking there. e privileged nature of certain districts is thus directly reflected by the amount of urban greenery. In contrast the expectation that visitors will find Mexico City overwhelming was by and large met. It was not just the fact that the city lies 2240 meters above sea level that made life difficult. e sheer size of the city and the five million cars make travelling longer distances a test of one’s patience, although the number of bus routes is growing constantly and the city has an intact underground railway system. Traveling between two sites by Uber took a good two hours. One should be aware of one thing: architecture is a phenomenon of the upper middle class. Lifestyles differ enormously. For example, the social divide between the eastern and western parts of the city is enormous. is explains why state construction programs such as the one in Iztapalapa (cf. p.38) fall on fertile ground—at least when they respond appropriately to local needs. Obviously, we could acquaint ourselves with just part of the agile architecture scene in Mexico City—and this issue covers only an even smaller part. For the concept we were able to rely on the network and knowledge of our Mexico correspondent Laure Nashed, and on conversations and advice from Nicole Deiss, Sara Ellenberger, David Vaner and Max von Werz.

Many thanks for this. — Jasmin Kunst,

Roland Züger