Mextropoli, Pavilion 1800
Client: Mextropoli Festival and 1800® Tequila
Program: Pavilion for Mextropoli Festival
Size: 1,000 sq.ft.
Budget: Withheld by client
Completion Date: 2018
Built: 2018
Material: Steel and obsidian
Architect: Baumgartner + Uriu in collaboration with SCI-Arc and Francisco Pardo
Team: Garrett Sutherlin Santo(Design), Austin Anderson(Design), Wilbur Estrada(Design), Ximena Orozco(Project Management), Evan Mason, Andy Magner, José García, and Hsengtai Lintner
Consultant: Nous Engineering (Structural Engineer)
Mextropoli, Pavilion 1800
MEXTRÓPOLI is an annual four-day festival celebrating Mexico City’s architecture and urban fabric, and the 2018 edition was held between March 15–20. It is Latin America’s only forum aimed to facilitate the generation and exchange of knowledge focused on reimagining the built environment. More than 52,000 attendees included students, citizens, professionals, tourists, public servants, artists, and other experts.
The festival positions Mexico City as a diverse setting that encourages designers to be both creative and critical. MEXTRÓPOLI includes conferences, workshops, and outdoor exhibitions and pavilions.
For this year’s MEXTRÓPOLI festival, Baumgartner + Uriu in collaboration with SCI-Arc students and Francisco Pardo designed the 1800 pavilion, which was located on the west side of the Alameda Central park in downtown Mexico City adjacent to a monumental fountain. The pavilion, which measured approximately 22 feet tall by 40 feet long, comprised a structure formed with materials that are typically concealed—#3 and #4 rebar painted black—set atop an obsidian base.
The pavilion was designed in multiple units that were prefabricated and then transported and assembled onsite. Column trusses featured cross-braced rebar members anchored by steel base plates. Above, truss beams integrated with secondary elements, including structural gray shades and nonstructural blue shades. Custom connectors accommodated a variety of intersections between the many segments of rebar.
A panel discussion on the topic of craftsmanship in a digital era was held under the pavilion on March 19th and included Architect Herwig Baumgartner from Baumgartner + Uriu, Hernan Diaz Alonso, SCI-Arc Director and CEO; Alejandro Haiek; Karen Burkart; Brendan MacFarlane, SCI-Arc Visiting Faculty; Francisco Pardo, SCI-Arc Mexico City Representative; and Anna Merci.
The festival positions Mexico City as a diverse setting that encourages designers to be both creative and critical. MEXTRÓPOLI includes conferences, workshops, and outdoor exhibitions and pavilions.
For this year’s MEXTRÓPOLI festival, Baumgartner + Uriu in collaboration with SCI-Arc students and Francisco Pardo designed the 1800 pavilion, which was located on the west side of the Alameda Central park in downtown Mexico City adjacent to a monumental fountain. The pavilion, which measured approximately 22 feet tall by 40 feet long, comprised a structure formed with materials that are typically concealed—#3 and #4 rebar painted black—set atop an obsidian base.
The pavilion was designed in multiple units that were prefabricated and then transported and assembled onsite. Column trusses featured cross-braced rebar members anchored by steel base plates. Above, truss beams integrated with secondary elements, including structural gray shades and nonstructural blue shades. Custom connectors accommodated a variety of intersections between the many segments of rebar.
A panel discussion on the topic of craftsmanship in a digital era was held under the pavilion on March 19th and included Architect Herwig Baumgartner from Baumgartner + Uriu, Hernan Diaz Alonso, SCI-Arc Director and CEO; Alejandro Haiek; Karen Burkart; Brendan MacFarlane, SCI-Arc Visiting Faculty; Francisco Pardo, SCI-Arc Mexico City Representative; and Anna Merci.