FundarqMX
Mexico City functions as an urban hub that has hosted events and changes over the years — political, economic, social, academic, financial, business, tourism, and entertainment shifts that have positioned the capital as the largest and most important city in the country. Its growth makes it a global city with one of the strongest economies internationally, generating financial and cultural centers of immense importance.
Looking back to the city's beginnings, the Valley of Mexico was dominated by water bodies, with indigenous settlements only a cluster of primitive islands. The Mexica named the territory México-Tenochtitlan and began life amid abundant vegetation and wildlife. The establishment of the Mexica Empire's capital led to exponential development of the valley, with new principal areas between dykes and aqueducts. It wasn't until 1521, with the fall of Greater Tenochtitlan, that gradual changes began — including the noticeable drying of Lake Texcoco on its eastern side, which unfolded throughout the viceregal era and reshaped the morphology of the surroundings.
The city's new configuration revealed plotting that reflected the need to identify and locate the most important sites, and from 1760 onward streets and several urban blocks were consolidated, allowing the connection of different parts of the city and easing the construction of new buildings — though many green spaces were still visible. It was only after 1855 that the capital experienced gradual urbanization: various plazas were configured (Plaza Mayor, Plaza de Santo Domingo), as well as aqueducts, alameda gardens, churches, and several monuments. Seventy years later the slab of the Plaza de la Constitución was defined and the first building taller than 10 stories was built (La Nacional), and Avenida 20 de Noviembre was traced and integrated into key arteries such as San Juan de Letrán, Juárez, and Paseo de la Reforma.
Today, what was once the seat of palaces is surrounded by modern skyscrapers. Each day we see new buildings by various architects standing alongside structures from the 16th century. The challenge is to harmonize the new with the historic so that urban renewal succeeds.
One of those new buildings is Edificio Dondé, designed by Cadaval & Solá-Morales in collaboration with ReUrbano, located in a strategic area near the metro and major streets, in the Reloj Chino roundabout on Avenida Paseo de Bucareli.
The Edificio Dondé complex offers high-quality housing while reactivating the area's economic flow as a residence-with-commerce, since its ground floor offers commercial services. Spaces adapt to users' needs, from couples to families, generating places of daily interaction such as private-shared terraces and a central patio that gives way to enjoyment of the urban landscape. The project also shows respect for its social, historic, and architectural context, evident in its proximity and scaling to neighboring buildings, in its careful structural design oriented toward disaster prevention in a seismic zone, and in the way it integrates private space with public space. The result is a space combining the best construction and design strategies, conceptually conversing with the city's history.
Another project in this urban context is Casa Emilio Dondé 7, just steps from the Plaza de la Ciudadela. It is an 1860 house with heritage value that, after decades of abandonment, has been brought back to life through a joint intervention by ReUrbano, Somos ACHA, and Juan Carral Arquitectura.
The project joins this new way of seeing architecture, which seeks to recover original elements and protect heritage, positively impacting a place's dynamics. Emilio Dondé 7 was recovered sensitively and intelligently — reborn while taking into account mobility programs implemented in the city, the relationship with neighbors, and changes around specific issues in the neighborhood.
Mexico City has grown exponentially, and despite its history and importance, growth toward the periphery is less sustainable. That is why projects like these — with a coherent plan and an urban sensibility — bring people into the city, using space intelligently with a high quality of life.
