Francisco Pardo Arquitecto : Parc Los Héroes
- Published Thursday, August 30 2018
- in Muuuz - Magazine
- > Outdoor, urban space
At the request of both main social landlords of Mexico, CIDS and INFONAVIT, the architect Francisco Pardo delivers a public park in a deprived area of the city of Toluca de Lerdo. An intervention that goes well beyond simple development but is part of a broader social desegregation program, aimed at mitigating the weakness of a thirty-year social housing policy.
At a tight budget and the need for easy maintenance, Francisco Pardo Arquitecto responds with the use of robust and inexpensive materials, such as concrete, steel and cement blocks. A reduction of the costs also allowed by the support of the inhabitants who got their hands on the worksite. An essential co-construction in the process of appropriation of the population and the development of a collective identity.
"It's important to not only change the physical conditions but also the perception of space: as a designer, I believe that supporting local communities to provide better public spaces is what helps these families the most. " Francisco Pardo, architect
Instead of making a clean sweep of the existing infrastructure, the project manager preferred to rethink and divide two paved areas of Los Héroes Sección III, located on both sides of a primary and nursery school. The two rectangular parcels have been endowed with multiple activities such as play areas, a skate park and two basketball courts and a football field.
Perhaps this project will come out of the ground in only 6 months, will it initiate changes of size in this deprived area of Toluca?
To learn more, visit the website of Francisco Pardo Arquitecto
Photographs: © Jaime Navarro
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