+ 14

In 2014, a group of friends from Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, eager to contribute to their city's resilience and recovery process, came together to discuss and share ideas for reclaiming streets, plazas, and parks through sociocultural projects and urban interventions in public spaces. This is how Nómada Laboratorio Urbano was born. Ciudad Juárez is an industrial city located on the northern border with the United States, directly across from El Paso, Texas. Over the years, Juárez has been economically dominated by the “maquiladora” manufacturing industry and was once considered one of the most violent cities in the world due to a wave of crime between 2008 and 2012.

+ 26

MASA is a gallery founded in Mexico City by Héctor Esrawe, Cristobal Riestra, Agé Salajõe, Brian Thoreen, Roberto Díaz Sesma, and Isaac Bissu. The space was designed by Savvy Studio, a design and architecture firm based in New York, Mexico City, and Monterrey that works across various typologies worldwide, including boutique hotels, restaurants, retail spaces, art galleries, and museums.

+ 12

The Bubble Creation is a collection presented by Herman Miller at the MAIA gallery, located in Mexico City's Roma neighborhood. The exhibition brought together 14 Nelson Bubble Lamps—one of the brand's most recognized products—reimagined by Mexican architects, designers, and interior designers.

The history of Cine Ópera dates back to 1949, when the iconic venue—designed by architect Félix T. Nuncio with interiors by set designer Manuel Fontanals—held its first screening, quickly becoming one of Mexico City's most popular movie theaters. Located at 9 Serapio Rendón Street in the San Rafael neighborhood, the Art Deco building features a facade framed by a large window with two stone-carved sculptures depicting the comedy and tragedy masks.

+ 25

As part of the cultural program of the Abierto Mexicano de Diseño, which opened in October 2019, the Franz Mayer Museum and Nouvel present InVisible: Glass Design, an exhibition featuring over 500 pieces that offers a focused look at the technical, formal, and stylistic possibilities of glass, one of the most fascinating materials. The exhibition features pieces conceptualized by artists such as Jan Hendrix, Perla Valtierra, Edgar Orlaineta, Julie Richoz, Mauricio Lara, Brian Thoreen, and Frida Escobedo, among other prominent designers.

+ 33

In October of last year, in an exclusive interview with ArchDaily, we spoke with architect Alberto Kalach about the role of the architect and land-use planning in Mexico. During our conversation, he strongly emphasized the need to reinvent the architect's role to develop much more holistic projects integrated with their territory.

Based on this premise, Alberto Kalach's firm, Taller de Arquitectura X, presents an ambitious project centered on integrating the park with the city and vice versa. This initiative addresses the more than 70 neighborhoods surrounding the forest—an area home to 800,000 people living less than 1 kilometer from the Chapultepec Forest, 560,000 of whom reside behind Avenida Constituyentes, which severely limits their mobility to the park.

+ 5

On June 5, 2019, the College of Architects of the State of Oaxaca, a member of the Federation of Architects of the Mexican Republic (FCARM), officially launched the call for entries for the First Oaxacan Architecture Biennale 2019. The initiative aimed to showcase and promote architecture developed within the state, elevating Oaxacan architecture to a national stage. For this inaugural edition, the jury consisted of architects Aldo Paul Ortega Molina, Victor Sánchez Ruz, Prometeo Alejandro Sánchez Islas, Miquel Adriá, and Andrea Griborio.

+ 7

The Architecture MasterPrize celebrates the best in design excellence and innovation in architectural, interior, and landscape design. The award program is dedicated to showcasing and promoting exceptional talent, and highlighting the value of the art and science of architecture in enriching our lives. A jury of esteemed architects, industry professionals, and academics evaluates entries across 41 categories in the disciplines of architecture, interior design, and landscape design. The AMP honors and rewards the talents of those who push boundaries and set new standards, turning the ordinary into the truly extraordinary and inspiring others today and for generations to come.

As part of the 16th edition of the MUTEK Festival, which has been held in Mexico City since 2003, the participation of the 404.zero collective has been announced. This duo of audiovisual architects is dedicated to designing immersive experiences that blend A/V installations with live performances, driven by an uncontrollable fascination with the unknown, the cosmos, and death.

+ 10

In recent years, architectural production in Mexico has faced a series of extraordinary challenges. Some of these stem from natural disasters that severely shook at least nine states, leaving several areas gravely affected across Mexico City, Puebla, Morelos, Oaxaca, Veracruz, Tlaxcala, Guerrero, and the State of Mexico. However, these events also served as a catalyst, prompting the architectural community to increase its focus—and active involvement—on housing and infrastructure for the most vulnerable sectors of the population.

+ 6

As part of the Museo Jumex’s fall programming in Mexico City, internationally acclaimed artist James Turrell will illuminate two of its galleries with immersive installations from his new body of work—one of the most significant series of his career—which engages viewers with the limits of human perception. These two installations will offer contrasting experiences, transforming the spaces to blur the boundaries of the horizon in both light and darkness.

+ 15

As part of Design Week Mexico 2019, Diez Company opened Maison Diez Company to the public. Led by Rodrigo Fernández, this dedicated design and lighting project brings together various elements to create an environment centered on illumination. This unique project in Mexico returns with a renewed concept, showcasing new proposals in a house in the Juárez neighborhood, aimed at those who enjoy architecture, design, hospitality, and construction.

+ 19

As part of the cultural program of Jardín 17 –a space designed by Luis Barragán as an extension of his House-Studio that for 20 years has hosted various universities from around the world to present major design and architecture exhibitions–, Japanese architect Go Hasegawa presents 'Flying Carpet,' a pavilion suspended in a corridor amidst the vegetation originally planted by Luis Barragán and later intervened by Mexican architect Alberto Kalach.

+ 17

Paseo Molino is a new complex—comprising residential and corporate towers alongside a commercial zone—set to open soon at the Antiguo Molino de La Unión in Toluca, State of Mexico, a site with over 220 years of history. Designed by architect Samuel Chávez, the project involved restoring the historic structure using traditional construction techniques, including adobe, masonry, and reclaimed antique timber.

On Wednesday, December 4, Mexican architects Arturo and Jorge Arditti received the Honorary Doctorate Latin America Leaders Awards 2019 at the United Nations headquarters in Vienna. The distinction was awarded by The Global School for Social Leaders in collaboration with 1MillionStartups, The Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens, the Humanist World Foundation, and the Analysis and Opinion Research Group (GIAO).

On August 8, as part of Expo Arte-Objeto—an exhibition commemorating the 60th anniversary of Llano de la Torre— Firenze invited architect Ricardo Casas to reinterpret the use of porcelain tiles with playful, exclusive designs.

The AR Emerging Architecture Awards have revealed their shortlist, which includes two Mexico-based practices: Estudio MMX and Comunal Taller de Arquitectura. Alongside 14 other offices, they will have the opportunity to present their projects to the judges: Anna Heringer of Anna Heringer Architecture, winner of the 2006 and 2008 AR Emerging Architecture awards; London-based Irish architect Níall McLaughlin of Níall McLaughlin Architects, who was a finalist in 2002; and Sou Fujimoto, founding director of Sou Fujimoto Architects, a previous winner in 2006 for a children's treatment center in Hokkaido, Japan.

On Wednesday, June 5, SOM and Arquine will host a panel discussion on architecture and engineering collaborations to celebrate the final week of "SOM: Art + Engineering + Architecture," an exhibition presented at the historic Colegio de San Ildefonso in Mexico City. The exhibition is presented in collaboration with MEXTRÓPOLI, an architecture and urbanism festival organized by Arquine.