De lo urbano a lo arquitectónico


Satellite image of the metropolitan area of San Luis Potosí. The Gogorrón National Park stands out , as does the Tangamanga Park as the sole green area within the urban scale.
                                                                            Isolated representation of the Tangamanga Park and the closer plots that could be the link to the national reserve. 


2018
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
Taller Max Cetto - Thesis seminar

The thesis seminar led by Vanessa Loya and Mariza Flores in the Max Cetto workshop in the school of architecture of UNAM is known for being a demanding end-of-career studio. Their method consists in identifying a problematic urban issue and generating an alternative plan through an urban-architectonic strategy. The subject of my proposal was the exploration of the public spaces in my city, the historical development of the urban and natural landscape of San Luis Potosí, and more especifically the tension that exists between Tangamanga Park and Gogorrón National Park.

The Tangamanga Park is the second largest urban park in the country, just after Chapultepec Park in Mexico City, with an extension of 420 hectares. Tangamanga is only 5 kilometers away of Gogorrón National Park, a local natural reserve that is part of the Sierra Madre Oriental, the largest mountain range in the northeastern mexican region. However it would seem like they are completely unrelated, and the recent local real-state development has created physical barriers that separates them even more.

By way of a historical analysis, this project could define the key role the Tangamanga Park had for the development of the industrial city that now is San Luis Potosí. Also, by mapping the urban functions along the most important transit lines around the park, it was possible to forecast a possible connection between relevant urban elements and the Tangamanga.

The proposed urban strategy acknowledged the advantages of linking the Autonomous University, the old city center polygon (that is part of the UNESCO world heritage site) the consolidating commercial and living zones, administrative clusters and cultural areas towards an  extended natural reserve that linked Tangamanga Park with Gogorrón National Park.


Map of the city of San Luis Potosí, drawn by the engineer Ignacio Maldonado in 1914.
Drawn by the engineer J. Sustaita in 1938.
Drawn by the engineer Fitzmaurice in 1946.
Map of the city of SLP drawn by the General Direction of Cadaster in 1962.
 The cartography of the city recognized from a very early stage the existence of a body of water in the south-western outer regions of the original settlements. The “Tenería Tank”, as the Main Lake of the Tangamanga Park was formerly known, used to be the main provider of water for the communities. The manipulation of the maps allowed me to recognize the traces of the evolution towards the actual urban configuration, providing the history of the Tangamanga Park with an enormous symbolical charge that is not often recognized. 

The growth of the city can be observed in the following plans provided by the Historical Archive of San Luis Potosí, which are overlapped with my own work of highlighting relevant present day avenues and landmarks. They can be analized next to a detailed cartography of current functions of the city.

Mapping of the land use in the defined polygons for the study. The urban and architectural strategy was derived from the interpretation of these representations. Other cities have a tendency of building for larger densities around large parks, but in SLP the tendency is of low-medium density housing and few commercial areas.

3D visual fromGoogle Earth. The growing real-state development can be observed between the Tangamanga Park and the mountain range of Gogorrón National Park. This strategy explored an opportunity of linking them together.

The most obvious link between both natural areas was the southern entrance of the Park. By making an accesible access plaza that ensured the efficient traffic for pedestrians and cyclysts without reducing the efficiency of the highway, the natural reserve could be easily accesed through a yet unbuilt plot. This plaza could lead to several open-air artistic venues that allowed congregations, cultural functions, social gatherings and sporting events. Through a network of gathering hubs, the accidented topography could be linked. The final architectonic approach was the proposal of a lookout tower to take the advantage of the higher level of the topography of this area.

However, the most important aspect for this extension definitely was the possibilities of urban connections that could arise after opening the Tangamanga Park as a public transit line that connected the old city center and the recent developments.

Strenghtening public infrastructure would lead to more efficient developments that accomodate larger crowds instead of using larger extensions inside the natural reserves. This project was a critique of the corruption inside the urban planning institutions in provintial regions of Mexico. Nonetheless, to this day, the plot drawn above has become  an extension of a closed-gate community owned by the larger developer in the region.

Implementation of the planned strategy through the opening of a southern gate of Tangamanga Park and the implementation of urban transportation equipment. 

The most obvious link between both natural areas was the southern entrance of the Park. By making an accesible access plaza that ensured the efficient traffic for pedestrians and cyclysts without reducing the efficiency of the highway, the natural reserve could be easily accesed through a yet unbuilt plot. This plaza could lead to several open-air artistic venues that allowed congregations, cultural functions, social gatherings and sporting events. Through a network of gathering hubs, the accidented topography could be linked. The final architectonic approach was the proposal of a lookout tower to take the advantage of the higher level of the topography of this area.

However, the most important aspect for this extension definitely was the possibilities of urban connections that could arise after opening the Tangamanga Park as a public transit line that connected the old city center and the recent developments.

Strenghtening public infrastructure would lead to more efficient developments that accomodate larger crowds instead of using larger extensions inside the natural reserves. This project was a critique of the corruption inside the urban planning institutions in provintial regions of Mexico. Nonetheless, to this day, the plot drawn above has become  an extension of a closed-gate community owned by the larger developer in the region.

Elevation of the crossroads between the new strategy and the periferic highway. 



An artificial lake takes advantage of the water that slides through the topography in the rain season. The closed-gate communities open up to a new extension of the park. The cultural equipment is strenghtened by the new gathering hubs and transportation spots that connect to public transport of the city. Finally, the urban (to) architectonic strategy culminates at the lookout tower.


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