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Communal living is nothing new. Throughout history, housing has long been tied to both shared needs and a concentration of resources. Today, between population growth and an increase in urban density and real estate prices, architects and urban planners have been pursuing alternatives for shared living. These new models explore a range of spatial and formal configurations with a shared vision for the future.

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There are several reasons why Quintana Roo —a state located in the southeastern region of Mexico— has an important cultural wealth. One of them is because of world-class tourism which has led it to have one of the eight international airports in Mexico in addition to being praised by the World Tourism Organization.

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Aguascalientes is a small state in the heart of Mexico, located 480 km northeast of Mexico City and nestled between the states of Zacatecas and Jalisco. With just 5618 km² of territory, it is Mexico's third smallest state. It's capital and most populated city is Aguascalientes, or "hot waters" in English, is named for the numerous hot springs found throughout the area.

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The Ministry of Culture of the Government of Mexico and the National Institute of Fine Arts and Literature (INBAL) have unveiled the Mexican pavilion at the Venice Biennale 2021 entitled Displacements ("Desplazamientos"), a curatorial work led by Isadora Hastings, Natalia de La Rosa, Mauricio Rocha, and Elena Tudela.

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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. 

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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.

Mexico City, considered one of the largest and most populous urban areas in the world, is in fact the largest city in the Americas and the Spanish-speaking world. Given this vast footprint, its immense population has led to sprawling peripheral settlements, highlighting the urgent need for a denser, more inclusive city. Various factors—such as the abandonment of downtown buildings following historic earthquakes like the one in 1985, compounded by a lack of basic habitability—have drawn the attention of diverse actors. Through clear, targeted interventions, they seek to restore a cohesive urban fabric that empowers residents to reclaim their city.

As we have seen throughout the history of architecture, ephemeral installations and pavilions are important tools for talking about specific moments in architecture in an almost immediate way. While it is true some pavilions have been so relevant that they broke with their ephemeral quality to become permanent, such as the German Pavilion in Barcelona, designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Lilly Reich, most are documented in photographs, plans and experiences to be rewritten in future projects.

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Urban design is a branch of design intimately related to urban planning and landscape architecture; it focuses broadly on interpreting the form and public space with physical-aesthetic-functional criteria. Different experts in the field such as Jane Jacobs, Denise Scott Brown, Robert Venturi, Jaime Lerner, Jan Gehl, Kevin Lynch have devoted themselves to studying the needs of urban societies within the common spaces to give adequate responses to different contexts. These questions are renewed with new generations and the public space is transformed according to technological advances but what always remains is the sense of belonging of these sites that are only successful when users adopt them as own.

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Why use concrete in bathrooms?

Béton brut or "raw concrete" is a naturally porous material that provides many advantages for the design and build of a bathroom. As a waterproof and pressure-resistant material, it is easy to clean, doesn't deteriorate, prevents bathroom fungus and is low maintenance. Attractive as it is functional, concrete is versatile for both on-site furniture and wall coatings, floors and even shower trays. In addition, due to its thermal mass, concrete is an excellent material for floor heating.

Pro Tip: There are a variety of concrete finishes, but for the safety of daily bathroom users, you must add a surface sealer and a certain percentage of traction to avoid slippage.

Below, we've compiled 26 concrete bathrooms that find intimacy in béton brut.

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