NEIGHBORHOOD CENTRE
The Neighborhood Centre was a set of recreational buildings with plazas for the core of a quarter in Mexico City. A proposal for wasteland with the intention to improve the quality of the area and the life of their inhabitants. It is a combination of an urban intervention with an architecture one in order to enhance the public space of the city. The set of buildings is formed by a cinema, gym, library, theater and a school. Each function of the buildings was selected to incorporate services in which the area has deficiencies or necessities.
Neighborhood Centre
Master Plan
The library is the end point of the diagonal axis. It´s location derived from the connection with the school of workshops and the space they share for the lecture in the outside.
The bookshelves,reading area, administration, and restrooms are located on the first floor. In the second floor, there are more bookshelves and smaller reading areas distributed on the floor for group work. The structure is reinforced concrete for floors, columns, and beams. The roof is divided into two part, the first is a plain concrete structure and the second one is a translucent dome in the double height of the reading area so light could enter. The facades are a combination of glass and metallic louvers in order to control the light entrance.
Library
Gym
School of Workshop
Theatre
Cinema
Library
School of Workshops
The school of workshops is the most important building of the project in which the orthogonal axis ends and directs to. Its location is privileged because it has access to 3 plazas including the main plaza. Also, it communicates with the theater and the library. The emplacement is in zig zag which allows each classroom have a balcony.
The first floor of the school has an interior courtyard surrounded by the classrooms and at the ends are the restrooms and stairs for the second floor. In the second floor, the distribution is the same. The structure is reinforced concrete for floors, columns, beams and roofs. Because of the site orientation of the building the facades have big windows to the take advantage of the light for the classrooms works.
Cinema
The cinema marks the pedestrian access with an open floor in the first level and an open lobby that directly connects with the main plaza. The building is separated in two but connected with an elevated corridor in order to emphasize the open lobby.
In the first floor is located the ticket office, a cafeteria, and the service area. In the center are the stairs and elevators for the second floor where are located the cinemas and the elevated corridor. The structure is reinforced concrete for floors, columns, and beams. It is a close box with metallic louvers so it can relate to the other buildings where louvers have a different function. Except for the elevated corridor which is made of glass.
The theater is one of the most important building that delimitates de plazas. It is also the connection with the street with more vehicular traffic so the people can see it and be attracted to go to it.
The first floor of the theater has the spectator area, a service yard, public restrooms, backstage, dressing rooms, ticket office, cafeteria and the lobby. The second floor is a mezzanine that has an illumination area for the stage, a balcony area, and the administration. The structure is reinforced concrete for floors, columns, beams and roofs. The facades are metallic louvers so it can relate to the other buildings.
Cinema
Theater
Gym
The gym building separates the main plaza of the soccer and basketball fields without breaking the diagonal axis . It also helps to form 2 of the plazas of the project.
The first floor of the gym is made up by a basketball field, the women and men restrooms with lockers and showers. The second floor is only formed by the stands for the basketball viewers in the upper part of the restrooms. The structure is reinforced concrete for floors, columns, and beams, and as roof a slight polycarbonate arch. The facades are metallic louvers, except in the restrooms which are brick walls, in order to allow the ventilation and light enter the field and the stands.