-
Designing the stage for tragedy: A case study of Ciudad Tlatelolco, Mexico City.
In the heart of Mexico City, just north of its historic center, Ciudad Tlatelolco stands out in its monumentality and historical significance. Spanning 950,000 square meters and made up of more than 100 tall buildings, some over twenty stories high, it remains one of the largest housing complexes in Latin America. Its towering concrete structures, defined by precise lines and Modernist ambition, sharply contrast with a sixteenth-century colonial church, the ruins of an Aztec pyramid, and a 125-meter-tall, pyramid-like tower made of reinforced concrete, glass, and aluminum. Despite this eclectic blend of architectural styles and periods, Tlatelolco’s design rarely dominates casual conversation. More than 60 years after construction concluded, its…
-
Multifamiliar
The term multifamiliar is a common name used in Mexican architecture, urban planning and design to refer to multi-story, high-density buildings designed to house multiple families in the same space. These are usually organized in a closed area, with services of their own (ranging from stores and entertainment to schools and hospitals). Mario Pani, the Mexican architect, is known for popularizing the term and leading the construction of multiple social housing projects with this type of building in the twentieth century.
