BICENTENNIAL MEMORIAL OF THE BATTLE OF PUEBLA
Puebla, Puebla, Mexico 2011

The City of Puebla is a place with a vast richness in culture and traditions where every corner is a clear proof of its history made throughout time; we can find a kaleidoscope of buildings, textures and sounds that are all interwoven and create the current Poblana culture. Within this cultural mosaic, we can find on the northeast side of the Zócalo a complex of spaces destined for culture, education and recreation; this site will host the memorial.

While the competition called for an Emblematic Monument, often regarded as a sculptural object, this proposal creates a new project: an undulating spatial fabric made of the social and architectural current conditions.

The project aims to activate and foment the use of the site by creating new open public spaces and reinforce the beautiful city views and landscape.

The memorial promotes social interaction through the use of the interstices generated by the deliberated designed of the spaces. These gaps contain the program of the memorial: an amphitheater, a mix-use gallery underneath the amphitheater, a playground, shaded open spaces and service area.

Artificial resemblance of the original topography, the overlapping wooden layer offers a park of undulating movements. Doing homage, the plaza symbolizes one of the most important historical moments in Mexican history. 150 trees were located throughout the square, representing the years that mark the anniversary of the Battle of 5 de Mayo; the need of shade for the users comfort determined the location of the vegetation. The light poles reflect the number of battalions that fought, while its location points to the sites where the most important battles occurred.

Thus, the monument becomes an unexpected public space, a viewpoint that looks over the city and promotes a social and cultural exchange.