Group Project [Re]Constructing Memory
-
Michael Paraszczak,
M.Arch. 2021
Laura Stargala, M.Arch. 2021
Class
ARCH 5115 Core Design Studio V: Expanded PracticesInstructor
Lily Chi
This memorial, bamboo center, and housing project is located in Colonia Obrera, Mexico City, on a site where a factory once stood. During the 2017 earthquake, the factory collapsed and killed 15 people, but now lies vacant. The proposal places a bamboo forest memorial here, along with all the other vacant lots from the earthquake. The bamboo across the city is then harvested annually and brought to a new bamboo center on-site. Here, the bamboo is turned into a building material available to the community. Next to the memorial, a housing prototype is designed for Mexico City’s self-built culture, allowing growing families to expand their homes with bamboo. The entire process converts the scars of the city into a memorial network that generates cultural, economic, and familial growth.