Tag: alberto-kalach | ArchDaily

Mexico City Architecture City Guide: 38 Projects From Tenochtitlan to the 21st Century

Valentina Díaz — Fri, 03 Jul 2026 04:00:00 +0000

Mexico City is a sprawling metropolis of layered temporalities, where architecture operates as a continuous negotiation between deep-seated history and intense urban mutation. Built over the aquatic traces of Tenochtitlan, the city's fabric is an ongoing dialogue between eras: the monumental scale of the Pre-Hispanic Templo Mayor and the Viceroyalty architecture of the Catedral Metropolitana coexist with the modern and contemporary impulses that define its skyline. This dense juxtaposition creates a unique urban canvas where sacred geography, colonial imposition, and 20th-century ambition intersect.

Designing with Vaults: 10 Residential Projects that Maximize Light and Volume

Moises Carrasco — Sun, 31 Aug 2025 07:30:00 +0000

The term vault in architecture refers to a self-supporting arched structure that forms a ceiling or roof, which can effectively create a wide, column-free space. While traditional masonry vaults transfer loads to walls and buttresses, contemporary versions are more broadly defined as any ceiling that follows the roofline, creating a high, curved interior. These modern ceilings are typically framed using materials like concrete, timber, or steel, which provide the structural flexibility to create the dramatic effect of a vault without its historical constraints. The round arch vault, in particular, seems to have been a recently favored form for its simple, elegant geometry and its ability to adapt to a variety of modern residential styles.

David Martínez Ramos of Práctica Arquitectura: Exploring a Timeless Architecture with Memory and Sensitivity

Paula Pintos — Fri, 14 Feb 2025 08:30:00 +0000

Recently selected to participate in the upcoming 2025 edition of the Latin American Architecture Biennial in Pamplona, Práctica Arquitectura has established itself as a young and promising firm in the region, specifically in Mexico. Their architectural work focuses on materializing projects that achieve a high level of sensitivity, both for those who inhabit them and for their immediate surroundings, whatever they may be. In close connection with landscapes and terrains, their projects come to life through a design that carefully considers materials, structures, and details, while ensuring a sensory and emotional experience in the spaces they create.

Transmitting Local Culture: 15 Contemporary Museums and Cultural Spaces in Mexico City

Hana Abdel — Sat, 19 Oct 2024 07:30:00 +0000

Mexico City is renowned for its abundant museums, heritage sites, and cultural richness. In fact, the capital has over 173 museums, big and small spread out through its 16 alcaldías or burroughs. The presence of these cultural spaces injects and intensifies the artistic appeal and aspect of the vibrant city. With many pioneering Mexican architects having intertwined modern art and architecture, this gave rise to iconic museums and classics of Mexican modernist architecture.

Pilares La Pulga Innovation and Cultural Center / Taller de Arquitectura X / Alberto Kalach

Mónica Arellano — Fri, 05 May 2023 03:00:00 +0000

Text by Mónica Arellano.

Contemporary Architecture Guide of Puerto Escondido, Mexico

Mónica Arellano — Mon, 27 Mar 2023 07:30:00 +0000

Although there is no exact record of the specific moment in which Puerto Escondido began to become a reference of contemporary Mexican architecture, various waves have been experienced. Perhaps the first one started in 2016 when the construction of Casa Wabi began, a Tadao Ando project where the Mexican office BAAQ´ collaborated as associates to develop the executive project and coordinate its construction. However, in 2019 another wave was experienced that was later reinforced by the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and remote work, which radically aroused interest in returning to the provinces and costs where there was less population and overcrowding.

Sforza House / Taller de Arquitectura X / Alberto Kalach

Mónica Arellano — Wed, 28 Apr 2021 07:00:00 +0000

Text by Mónica Arellano. Located in front of the Pacific Coast and immersed in the landscape of La Barra de Colotepec, in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico, and designed by the Mexican architect Alberto Kalach, Sforza House develops from the idea of being aware of the environment, the contemplation and respect for the environment that is described as a “(…) place on the Oaxacan coast –where the delta of the Colotepec river converges with the sea– the sabines, the mangroves, the tulles and the oaks embrace this exuberant refuge to privilege a reunion with the essential and natural beauty without artifice. "

Jojutla School / Taller de Arquitectura X / Alberto Kalach + Roberto Silva

Mónica Arellano — Wed, 31 Mar 2021 07:00:00 +0000

Text by Mónica Arellano.

Architecture in Mexico: Emblematic Houses of Valle de Bravo

Mónica Arellano — Thu, 03 Dec 2020 05:00:00 +0000

Mexico's Valle de Bravo region, to the southeast of Mexico City, is characterized by the Presa Miguel Alemán lake, created in 1947 as a reservoir for Mexico City and Toluca's water supply. Thanks to its proximity to the capital, Valle de Bravo is a popular weekend destination for residents of surrounding cities. This in turn has sparked the interest of various architects, who have aimed to create projects that enhance visitors' experience such as offering an optimal view of the lake, or an immersive experience in the surrounding forest.

Mexican Architects Design 25 New Facilities for Mexico City's PILARES Program

Mónica Arellano — Sun, 04 Oct 2020 07:30:00 +0000

Mexico City's Secretary of Public Works and Services announced a collaboration with some of the country's most distinguished architectural minds in a move to add on to the capital's educational and cultural infrastructure. The project centers on the planning and building of 25 new Points of Innovation, Freedom, Art, Education, and Knowledge (PILARES), an initiative implemented by Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum.

Concrete Architecture: 20 Outstanding Projects in Mexico

Mónica Arellano — Sat, 24 Aug 2019 08:00:00 +0000

Concrete, a material commonly used in the construction industry, is made of a binder combined with aggregates (or gravels), water, and certain additives. Its origins reach back as far as Ancient Egypt, when the construction of large structures created the need for a new kind of material: one which was liquid, featured properties of natural stones, could be molded, and communicated a sense of nobility and grandeur.

30 Years After Luis Barragán: 30 Architects Share Their Favorite Works

Mónica Arellano — Sun, 09 Dec 2018 06:00:00 +0000

On November 22, 1988, one of the most important and revered figures in the history of Mexican and international architecture died in Mexico City. Luis Barragán Morfín, born in Guadalajara and trained as a civil engineer left behind an extensive legacy of published works, conferences, buildings, houses, and gardens that remain relevant to this day. While Barragán was known for his far-reaching research in customs and traditions, above all, the architect spent his life in contemplation. His sensitivity to the world and continued effort to rewrite the mundane has made him a lasting figure in Mexico, and the world.

Alberto Kalach: 'We Have Been Deforesting for Hundreds of Years & We Have Not Given Ourselves the Task of Recovering It'

Mónica Arellano — Thu, 08 Nov 2018 05:00:00 +0000

Alberto Kalach is a Mexican architect whose career has focused on creating site-specific works that blend into the natural environment. In his most recent exhibition in Mexico City, Territories and Housing, Kalach shows a series of drawings that highlight his concern for the environment. In these drawings, we can see a master plan that proposes ways of living with an environmental conscience.

Explore These Architecturally Innovative Bookcases

Fernanda Castro — Mon, 23 Apr 2018 06:00:00 +0000

At first, books were kept in chests but as they became published in bulk they moved into the cupboard. The doors came off and the bookcase began to evolve. Today, bookcases can be integral architectural elements that shape space and, in some cases, even light. In celebration of International Day of the Book on April 23rd, ArchDaily compiled this round-up of architecturally, innovative bookcases.

Scroll down to see inventive architectural book storage from Alberto Kalach, ARCHSTUDIO, Toyo Ito, and more.

Alberto Kalach: “Imagine if All Rooftops in Our City Were Green!”

Vladimir Belogolovsky — Fri, 11 Aug 2017 09:30:00 +0000

Last month I went on an enlightening trip to Mexico City, during which I had a chance to meet with half a dozen leading Mexican architects and critics. Those meetings included insightful conversations with Miquel Adrià, Tatiana Bilbao, Victor Legorreta, Mauricio Rocha, and Michel Rojkind among others (many of which will also feature in future installments of City of Ideas). I asked them many different questions, but two were consistent: “who would you name as Mexico’s best architect at this moment?” and “what one building built in the capital over the last decade is your favorite?” All of my interviewees pointed to Alberto Kalach (born 1960) and his Vasconcelos Library (2007). My Conversation with Kalach took place the next day after visiting the library on the rooftop of another one of his iconic buildings, Tower 41 overlooking Bosque de Chapultepec, Mexico City’s Central Park. We spoke about books, libraries, and his idea of buildings as inventions.

MCHAP Announces Finalists for 2014/2015 Most Outstanding Project in the Americas

Patrick Lynch — Thu, 23 Jun 2016 22:05:00 +0000

Seven projects have been named finalists in the second edition of the biennial Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize (MCHAP). Selected from a pool of 175 nominees, the chosen buildings represent the best built works of architecture realized in the Americas from January 2014 to December 2015. The inaugaral award, which was given to the best project from 2000-2013, was shared by Álvaro Siza's Iberê Camargo Foundation and Herzog & de Meuron’s 1111 Lincoln Road.

The Mexican Moment: The Rise of Architecture's Latest Design Capital

Daniel Rauchwerger — Tue, 16 Dec 2014 01:00:00 +0000

On a recent trip abroad, architect and urban planner José Castillo was struck by a conversation with Mexico’s tourism attaché in Asia. Mexican tourism, the attaché remarked, has changed; it was the ancient pyramids and sandy beaches of the country that once drew visitors to it. Today however, architecture and design—and food—prevail.

MCHAP Shortlists the 36 Most “Outstanding Projects” in the Americas

Vanessa Quirk — Tue, 24 Jun 2014 01:00:00 +0000

Wiel Arets, Dean of the College of Architecture at Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) and Dirk Denison, Director of the Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize (MCHAP), have announced the inaugural MCHAP shortlist – 36 “Outstanding Projects” selected from the 225 MCHAP nominees.