URBAN SCAFFOLD 

ADVANCED DESIGN | SPRING '14

Team Member: Brooks Cavender

Urban Scaffold is an urban proposal aims to create a form work for an interwoven city center. Drawing on Mexico’s history and cultural context, this project carves public space reminiscent of colonial monastic atrios, responding not only to the church San Agustin across the street, but also to the commemoration of this new urban plaza and the Museum and Cultural center of Felix Candela. Using programs such as open and enclosed markets, and keeping in mind the future use of the church as a university library, the scheme promotes a dialogue across the plaza, activating and weaving the site into the dense urban fabric. 

The Museum and Cultural Center of Felix Candela alludes to the intricate and ingenious scaffolding that Candela used to create his emblematic thin shell concrete structures. Our intervention to the existing building, the Antigua Bolsa de Valores, is expressed through a system of wooden lattice that not only evokes the ingenuity of Candela, but also serves as a structural system that supports the cultural hub of our design. Furthermore, the presence of the beaming wooden structure serves as a rich introduction to Candela’s awe-inspiring shell. Finally the design uses sectional difference to introduce interesting daylighting while preserving completely the integrity of design in Candela’s Shell.

The bottom two floors under the shell house the archives of the Felix Candela Museum as well as the research and development center for thin concrete shells. Above, the introductory hall, as well as a permanent exhibit is housed in Candela’s shell. A ambulatory curation allows the visitor to learn about and experience the shell simultaneously. This marks the beginning the procession through the museum that is housed in the southern part of the building vertically.