Memory Landscapes

FIST PLACE IN THE XX ARCHITECTURE BIENNIAL OF NUEVO LEON
The development of the Adolfo Prieto neighborhood in Monterrey is representative of the ideals of progress of the 50’s that were gaining popularity in post-war United States. Almost on par with the first American suburban developments, this urban project was constructed as an attempt to generate equal life conditions for the labour class of our ancestors, thus being one of the very first sub-urban projects of Mexico. Adolfo Prieto is therefore of immense value to the collective memory of Northeastern Mexico and thus the decay of such an important heritage must be adressed. This intervention project seeks to provide a strategic plan for the future of this neighborhood and avoid the extinction of its legacy.
The foundation on which this proposal is supported is the reconnection with the fauna; Recognizing the role of pollinators as key players in the production of food and economic resources. In the memory of the rural inhabitant of Monterrey, processes of symbiosis with living beings were the habitual way of life used by generations, where local economy, nutrition and wellbeing were part of an intimate relationship with local flora and fauna. This project suggests that returning to this identity, traditions and mutualism is necessary more than ever to cope with today’s unbearable circumstances.
The riparian element that crosses the suburb was key to establish the character of this project, developing wet zones through the manipulation of the topography in order to generate biological and functional processes that promote public life and the reconnection of the citizen with its natural surroundings.