SITOPIA
Project for the Future City
Authors
Camilo Antón Estevez
Javier Macias Valenti
Alfredo Ramírez Moreno
Professors
MSc. Urb MaR Diana García Cejudo
Mtro. Arq. Psj. Rodrigo Pantoja Calderón
Dr. Rubén Garnica Monroy
Arq. Agustín Solórzano Gil
Arq. Andrea María Parga Vazquez
Arq. Pedro Mendoza Hernández
Arq. Maria Fernanda Peña Pérez
Advisors
Arq. Daniela Cruz Naranjo
Arq. Luisa Fernanda Medina Martínez
Index
Preface What shapes us?
Chapter 1: Growth Opportunity / Prototype
Site Adaptation
Chapter 2: From Urban to Rural Opportunity / Prototype
Site Adaptation
Chapter 3: Water Opportunity / Prototype
Site Adaptation
Chapter 4: Food Opportunity / Prototype
Site Adaptation
Chapter 5: Pilot Relationships / From people to program
Plaza
Acuaponics
Water Treatment
Co-op House
Barn
Landscape
As a society, we are currently witnessing unprecedented urbanization and population growth. The United Nations predict that by 2050, 68% of the world’s population will live in cities. This rapid urbanization presents many challenges, including increased hydric stress, pressure on natural resources, and significant changes in lifestyles and food consumption patterns.
This project seeks to explore the challenges and opportunities presented by the exponential growth the city of Querétaro, México has experienced in the last 20 years.
The city of Querétaro, has become one of the fastest-growing cities in México, according to a report by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI), the city’s population grew from 505,000 in the year 2000 to over 1.2 million by 2021 and this growth is expected to continue.
This growth has brought about challenges, ranging from real estate speculation to the destruction of natural habitats and a lack of urban planning.
The city’s economic development has attracted large-scale real estate investments, that opperate in real estate speculation which has risen property prices resulting in the displacement of low-income families; thus creating exclusive enclaves that exacerbate social disparities.
With a semi-arid climate, Queretaro is also facing significant hydric stress, with limited water resources that are vulnerable to depletion.
According to a report by the Mexican Center for Environmental Law (CEMDA), in 2018, the city approved 2,232 hectares of land for new urban development, most of which were not subject to environmental impact assessments or public consultations. This rapid expansion of the city has resulted in the destruction of natural habitats.
Our project aims to propose sustainable solutions that integrate traditional agricultural practices urban agriculture, and green infrastructure to promote food sovereignty, reduce hydric stress, and create resilient communities
To stop the urban push into rural landscapes, we seek to counter urban sprawl by taking advantage of periurban spaces for the creation of transition zones.
The city of Querétaro, México, presents a sharp contrast between the rural and urban landscapes While the city center boasts a vibrant urban atmosphere, complete with modern amenities and bustling streets, the rural areas surrounding it present an entirely
different lifestyle. Here, traditional agriculture and livestock farming are still the main sources of income, resulting in a slower pace of life.
However, as the city has grown and expanded, a new type of space has emerged: periurban areas. These are transitional spaces located on the outskirts of the city, where rural and urban landscapes meet
In these areas, there is a mix of traditional farming practices and modern urban development, as well as a variety of potential opportunities for the local population.
Because of the rapid expansion of the urban landscape into rural areas like El Nabo, large chunks of land are left empty. These periurban areas around the study zone have the potential to create a transition zone between the two contrasting landscapes.
El Nabo is a rural traditional ejido that was founded in the 1950s by inhabitants of Mompani, a nearby town. They settled here specifically thanks to the fact that their animals were constantly arriving wet when they went grazing. This phenomenon awakened their curiosity and leading them to investigate, thus finding a small well, currently located in the heart of the community, near the main plaza. At the side of the well where the canal is today, there was a spring where people used to bathe.
Thus the community was born from water.
Ejido land has become a target for developers due to its low cost and lack of formal land titles. Furthermore, the lack of proper regulation has allowed developers to operate without sufficient oversight, exacerbating the negative impacts of real estate speculation on the region.
Around the 2000s part of the ejido land was sold to a real estate developer, DRT, the company who bought the land then developed it into Cumbres del Lago, a private residential enclave for the uppermiddle class.
The migration of people from rural to urban areas has been a global trend for several decades. While this migration can bring opportunities for economic and social advancement, it can also lead to the loss of cultural identity and the homogenization of the
population. As people move to urban areas, they often leave behind traditional ways of life and cultural practices, which are replaced by the dominant urban culture.
This can erode the diversity of cultures and the uniqueness of local traditions. Additionally, urbanization can lead to a loss of connection to the natural environment, which has been an integral part of many rural cultures.
Strategies to mitigate these impacts may include preserving cultural heritage sites and promoting education on traditional practices, as well as encouraging sustainable urban development that values cultural diversity.
To decentralize our city bringing economical opportunity to the outskirts From
Formalization of Public Space in a Rural Context
The site in which the project will be developed is located in a valley at the exact point where two runoffs merge, giving us acces to water.
The site is also already a milpa, which is important because the project aims to respect the natural landscape as much as possible.
The site has a streetfront to the main street of El Nabo making it very accesible for the community.
From Rural to Urban Site
Water has been a vital resource in the history of Querétaro, from the first indigenous people who settled in the area, and developed complex irrigation and rainwater harvesting systems to ensure the survival of their communities, to colonial times when the Spanish
The situation is compounded by the rapid urbanization and population growth in the state, which has increased water demand and reduced the area available for natural water retention. As a result, the state is facing increasing water scarcity Querétaro
built aqueducts that provided water to the city and allowed the development of agriculture and livestock in the region. The history of water in Querétaro is a sample of the role this resource has had in shaping people’s lives and the development of the region.
Querétaro is facing severe hydric stress, with a water deficit of approximately 242 million m3 per year, The state’s aquifers are being overexploited, with extraction rates exceeding infiltration rates, leading to declining water levels and reduced water quality.
To not see water as waste but as a limited resource that operates in a cycle.
Semi-arid regions like the study site are characterized by low and erratic precipitation, making them particularly vulnerable to changes in rainfall patterns. Climate change has caused an increase in average temperatures, resulting in increased evaporation rates, which have
in turn reduced the amount of moisture available for precipitation.
This has led to more frequent and prolonged droughts, and a shift in the timing and intensity of rainy seasons. Sometimes, rainy seasons have become shorter and less predictable, while in others, they
have become more intense, causing flooding and erosion.
These changes have had significant impacts on agriculture, water availability, and the natural ecosystem in the study site.
are unpredictable.
The current model of production and distribution of food in México is dominated by large-scale industrial food companies. This model is heavily reliant on the use of agrochemicals and irrigation which have negative environmental impacts and contribute to soil
depletion and water scarcity.
According to a report published in 2015 by the Mexican National Institute of Ecology and Climate Change, agriculture accounted for 82% of the total water consumption in Querétaro.
The distribution of food is largely controlled by large retail chains and food processing companies, which dictate prices to farmers, this results in it making it difficult for them to cover production costs and leading to the abandonment of small-scale agriculture.
The model also depends heavily on imports, which can leave the food supply chain vulnerable to disruptions, which can result in food shortages and price spikes, particularly for low-income consumers.
To produce and consume in situ, responisbly and efficiently
Ejidos play a significant role in Mexico’s rural economy and agricultural sector, contributing to food production and rural livelihoods. They are also important as a tool for community cohesion in rural areas.
Under the ejido system, the government would expropriate large estates and transfer the land to rural communities or groups of individuals known as ejidatarios.
The establishment of an ejido involved several steps.
The organization of an ejido typically involves a system of governance that is democratic and collective in nature. At the core of the ejido system is the ejido assembly, which is composed of all members of the community who hold a right to use the land. The ejido assembly is responsible for making decisions about the use of the land, such as what crops to plant, how to manage water resources, and how to distribute profits.
The project revolves around a cooperative model in wich the members colectively own the land and the benefits of the productive vocation of the project.
460 members
50% of their diet covered
Since El Nabo is an ejido, the area surronding the site study is filled with milpas, Milpa agriculture has been practiced for thousands of years and has deep cultural and historical significance. It reflects indigenous knowledge, sustainable farming practices, and the close
relationship between humans and nature, however due to a change in climate conditions it is very hard for this method to produce enough even for the maintenance of the people who work the land.
Por las colinas y las sierras calvas, verdes pradillos, cerros cenicientos,
la primavera pasa dejando entre las hierbas olorosas
sus diminutas margaritas blancas.
La tierra no revive, el campo sueña.
Antonio Machado v
Water Tower 285m2
Fireplace 200m2
Barn 1891m2
Seasonal Garden 2500m2
Aquaponics 2592m2
Floodable Park 2315m2
Waste water green treatment
Pathways 1841m2
Coop House 2025m2
Plaza 432m2
Intervention site: 36830m2
1. Propose multiple-use public spaces.
2. Implement hybrid cultivation methods that are water sensible.
3. Provide means that promote local consumption.
6. Leverage the runoff water and its natural flow towards the infrastructure, whether its gray, green, or blue.
7. Capture, treat, and reutilize rain and residual water, with the use of strategies based on nature itself.
8. Promote and re-dignify the endemic and native vegetation.
9. Public spaces that allow the appropriation of the place.
10. Integrate water as a part of the urban image.
11. Raise awareness of the abundance and scarcity of water.
12. Recover the historical connection with water.
13. Promote inclusion in public space.
19. Make the most of the physical conditions of the terrain.
20. Minimize water loss due to evaporation.
21. Use of materials, techniques and local processes that are sustainable, high quality, and reduce environmental impact.
23. Equipped public spaces that incentivise coexistence and interaction.
Plaza
A public plaza is a social gathering place that encourages people to come together, interact, and engage in activities. This helps to foster a sense of community and promotes social cohesion.
Made up of a roofed area and a esplande, the plaza is thought of as a place to stay or pass. The esplanade serves a vantage ponit from where to see the whole project.
Aquaponics
Aquaponics is a closed-loop system that requires less water than traditional farming methods, and the fish and plants grown in the system can be used for food. It is a sustainable and environmentally-friendly method of food production that is gaining popularity around the world. v
The aquaponic placement responds to water availability throught the seasons. Placing the most intensive production in the higheest point of the project, near the water tower.
This allows for clean water to be pumped only one time from the ozone treatment plan to the water tower wich distributes water to the aquaponics modules by a gravity system.
When water is scarce only the most productive modules are operating.
1. Least density
2. Medium density
3. Highest density
Production is placed on the outer and inner ring of the module, leaving an circulation walkway through wich you acces the produce.
The structure consists of 8 IPR 18¨ x 11. On the short side rigid frames are formed so the IPR beams are oriented according to the highest inertia the experience.
On the long side, since the beams experience less inertia, wind bracing is needed.
The water tank is an independent structure from the IPR bems of the module since they experience different types of effort.
1. Columna de acero de perfil IPR 18” de peralte por 11” de ancho. 97lbs/ft Espesor del patín 0.87” Espesor del alma 0.54” Soldada a placa de acero en la base. // 2. Viga de acero de perfil IPR 16” de peralte por 5 1/2” de ancho. 26 lbs/ft Espesor del patín 0.35” Espesor del alma 0.25” Conexión con Columna IPR soldada. // 3. Soporte de PTR 4x4” // 4. Rejilla Irving de 1 1/2” de peralte. Claro entre soleras de carga 2.25m Soldada a IPR y PTR. // 5. Placa de acero con anclaje. Hacer a medida. 40x60x5cms con 4 anclas de 35cms y 1/2” diametro. Ahogada en dado de concreto armado. // 6. Zapata Aislada de 4x2x0.25m F´c = 250 kg/m2 armado con 8V#8 en ambos sentidos. Dos dados de concreto armado 70x50cms con 4V#8 y E#8@20cms. De derecha a izquierda: Detalle de Unión de Rejilla a Marco Estructural. // Detalle Zapata aislada y Anclaje de Columna IPR.
1. Terreno lítico del sitio // 2. Tepetate compactado en capas de 20cms 90% // 3. Plantilla de concreto F’c=100 kg/m2 5cms espesor. // 4. Tanque de agua. Capacidad 42m3. // 5. Zapata Aislada de 4x2x0.25m F´c = 250 kg/m2 armado con 8V#8 en ambos sentidos. Dos dados de concreto armado 70x50cms con 4V#8 y E#8@20cms. // 6. Losa de Concreto armado F´c = 250 kg/m2 armado con dos parrillas de V#8@20cms en ambos sentidos. // 7. Muro de concreto armado F´c = 250 kg/m2 armado dos parrillas del V#8@20cms en ambos sentidos. // 8. Tanque de peces. Capacidad 42m3. // 9. Relleno de piedra lutitas del sitio. // 10. Placa de acero 40x60 5cms de espesor // 11. Contraventeo de PTR 1 1/2” // 12. Soporte de PTR 4X4” // 13. Sistema hidropónico con tubo de PVC de 4” suspendida con tensores. Pendiente 2% Perforaciones diámetro 10cms a cada 20cms. // 14. Tensores de acero para sujetar sistema hidroponico con omega 4”. // 15. Viga de acero de perfil IPR 16 x 5 1/2” 26lbs/ft. // 16. Columna de acero de perfil IPR 18 x 11” 97lbs/ft // 17. Producción de alimentos. Variedad de hortalizas tubérculos de consumo crudo y verduras aptas para riego con agua tratada.
Green Infraestructure
Is a non-invasive way to start the water treatment process, removing solids through different strategies that use native rocks and plants like:
Equisetum Hyemale
Zantedeschia Aethiopica
Sagittaria Latifolia
Polygonum Amphibium
Ozone Water Treatment
The proposal includes a chemichal tratment that removes bacteria and other small particles that allow the water to be used for agriculture.
Co-op House
The main idea of this building is to explore the act of eating together.
Eating together is an act humans have engaged in since the dawn of history, this practice fosters social bonding, as it provides an opportunity for people to connect, share stories, and engage in conversation.
This helps strengthen relationships and build a sense of community inside the Co-op.
The program is split up into 2 main zones divided by the central patio, the productive area to the north and the social space to the south.
The central patio arrises throught the pre-existence of some huizaches and mezquites that the space is arranged around.
This patio allows for natural light and cross ventilation to come into the hall as well as to the production areas.
The materialty of the building relates to its context through its adaptation of available rocks in the surroundings.
This available rock did not have structural capacities, this is why the walls and the roof structure are two completely different systems.
// 2.
de
// 3.
de 40x40cms
con con 4V#8 y E#8@20cms. // 5.
//
de acero 40x60 5cms de espesor // 6. Losa de concreto MR tipo industrial. 20cms de espesor. // 7. Columna de perfil de acero H.S.S. 7 1/2” x 7 1/2” Calibre 3/8”. // 8. Viga de acero de Perfil H.S.S. 7 1/2” X 4“ Calibre 3/8”. // 9. Viga de acero de perfil IPR 27 x 10”. Conexión a IPR soldado. // 10. Monten de acero de perfil tipo C 4x2”. Calibre 14. // 11. Cubierta de panel glamet metálico. Dos lámina de acero de 2mm de espesor. Unido por un núcleo de poliuretano de 4cms de espesor. // 12. Muro de mamposteria con piedra lutitas del sitio. 50cms de espesor. // 13. Bajada de agua con cadena pulida 1/8“ x 1/8”. // 14. Canaleta en lámina galvanizada. 8x12x14cm. Calibre 26. // 15.
The Co-op is designed as a building to do things together. To ensure the members of the cooperative are able to enjoy doing the things they love with those they love as much as possible we desinged a modular table and bench with OSB 18mm 2.44 x 1.22m panels for easy rearrangment of the space according to the use. A
Barn
barn offers shelter to the animals in the cycle of the proyect, as well as being a technical workshop space and a wharehouse v
The1. Workshop
2. Warehouse
3. Parking / Stable
4. Sheep pen
5. Goat pen
6. Hen house
7. Silo
As the Co-op, uses the same structural system in wich the walls and the roof structure are separated.
The Barn is dived by a main corridor that separates the building into two volumes.
One of the volumes house small animalls with smaller carbon footprints such as chickens, sheep and goats.
The second volume serves as a storage for all the equipment that is needed to run the project, as well as a training space for new techniques.
Landscaping
The barn offers shelter to the animals in the cycle of the proyect, as well as being a technical workshop space and a wharehouse v
Terraforming the canal with steel gabions allow us to control the flow of water so it can be properly treated and create a floodable park through wich we achieve connection between both sides of the valley.
The staggering gabions create an artificial landscape through platforms wich make it easier to cross.
Trees
Prosopis laevigata
Trunk: 1.0 m
Top: 4.0 m
Height: 2.0 - 7.0 mv
Taxodium mucronatum
Trunk: 1.0 m
Top: 7.0 10.0 m
Height: 10.0 m 15.0 m
Schinus Molle
Trunk: 1.0 m
Top: 7.0 12.0 m
Height: 7.0 - 12.0 m
Acacia Pennatula
Trunk: 0.5 m
Top: 2.5 m
Height: 2.0 - 8.0 m
Other trees included: Eysenhardtia polystachya // Erythrina coralloides // Albizia occidentalis Brandegee // Ehretia anacua // Ceiba aesculifolia // Casimiroa edulis // Bursera galeottiana // Annona cherimola // Fraxinus Uhdei.
Cactaceae
Agave Durangensis
Height: 1.0 - 2.0 m
Shrubs
Ceanothus Caeruleus
Height: 0.5 - 3.0 m
Grasses
Nassella Tenuissima
Height: 0.5 - 1.0 m
Myrtillocactus Geometrizans
Height: 2.0 - 7.0 m
Chrysactinia mexicana
Height: 0.1 0.8 m
Lophocereus Marginatus
Height: 2.0 - 8.0 m
Other shrubs cactaceae: Yucca filifera // Agave applanata // Agave americana // Peniocereus serpentinus // Stenocereus griseus // Stenocereus dumortieri // Opuntia leucotricha // Opuntia ficus-indica.
The landscaping of the project is based around the concept of “productive landscape”.
Productive landscaping refers to the practice of incorporating productive plants such as fruits, vegetables, herbs, and edible flowers into the design of a landscape. Unlike traditional ornamental landscaping, productive landscaping aims to create aesthetically pleasing outdoor spaces that also serve a functional purpose by providing food for consumption.
Other grasses included: Chloris submutica // Cynodon dactylon // Sorghum halepense // Bouteloua scorpioides // Melinis repens.
Other shrubs included: Condalia velutina // Senecio salignus // Amelanchier denticulata // Calliandra eriophylla // Acacia farnesiana // Senna septemtrionalis // Dalea bicolor.
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