Juarez Complex, Mexico City

View of the Juarez Complex from the main street. The restored temple of Corpus Christi foregrounds the two massive towers containing offices of the Superior Court of Justice (left) and the Foreign Affairs Secretariat (right).

Project Details

• Project Name: Juarez Complex (Plaza Juarez, Foreign Affairs Secretariat "Torre Tlatelolco" and Superior Court of Justice of the Federal District)
• Client: Government of Mexico City (Plaza Juarez), Foreign Affairs Secretariat and Superior Court of Justice of the Federal District
• Project Type: Urban Design & Offices
• Principal Designer/s: LEGORRETA + LEGORRETA
  (Ricardo Legorreta, Victor Legorreta)
• Contractor/s: Plaza Juarez: Grupo Farla
• Foreign Affairs secretariat: Grupo PC Constructores
• Superior Court of Justice: Corporativo Plaza Juarez
• Date of completion of project:
  • "Plaza Juarez": 2003
  • Foreign Affairs Secretariat "Torre Tlatelolco": 2005
  • Superior Court of Justice of the Federal District: 2005
• Location of site: Mexico City, Mexico
• Built-up Area:
  • Plaza Juarez: 27,500 m²;
  • Foreign Affairs Secretariat "Torre Tlatelolco": 58,655 m² + 31,900 m² (parking);
  • Superior Court of Justice of the Federal District: 36,240 m² 36,240 m² + 28,550 m² (parking)

Aerial view of the Plaza Juarez, with the Vicente Rojo fountain anchoring the fulcrum of the white base of the twin towers.

The Project

The Juarez Complex is located inside the historical center of Mexico City, in front of the Alameda Park. The 296,000 sq.ft. complex is adjacent on the north side with Avenida Juarez, on the south side with Calle Independencia, on the east side with Calle Dolores, and on the west side with Alle Luis Moya.

The taller tower of the Foreign Affairs Secretariat as viewed from the Garcia Lorca Square. The brick-coloured wall visible at the far end is the restored temple of Corpus Christi, separating this plaza from the main Juarez Plaza.

The primary objective of the project is to regenerate an important zone of the historical downtown of Mexico City that was severely damaged by the 1985 earthquake. The complex is formed by open spaces, passages and plazas. The new headquarters for the Foreign Affairs Secretariat and the Superior Court of Justice of the Federal District, as well as mixed use buildings and parking lots are part of the Juarez Complex.

Because of its location, this complex is defined as a transition zone between the Paseo de la Reforma Avenue with its large-scale buildings and the historical centre of the city, with buildings of lower heights and spaces with more friendly scales for pedestrians. In addition, the complex had to integrate the restored temple of Corpus Christi, in order to make it the main focus of the complex.

Of all the outdoor spaces, the main one is the Plaza Juarez which surrounds the temple of Corpus Christi. This Plaza is the key generator for the rest of the complex, as well as being the main pedestrian access. In the center of the plaza, the architects designed, together with the plastic artist Vicente Rojo, a great fountain that integrates with the vegetation of the Alameda Park.

View of the Vicente Roja fountain from the Plaza Juarez, extending upto the back of the restored temple of Corpus Christi.

The design of the fountain consists of a water mirror of 114 x 98 feet with more than one thousand red concrete pyramids that in addition to the movement of water generated by a series of air injectors between each pyramid turns into a great fountain full of movement. The fountain leads to various other works commissioned from a number of artists to bring back the tradition of public art that was once popular in the city.

The Vicente Roja fountain at night

Credits

• Text: Courtesy, the Architect
• Photographs: Paul Czitrom, Luis Gordoa, Jose Ignacio Gonzalez Manterola, Lourdes Legorreta & Arturo Garcia Campos.
• Compiled by Suprio Bhattacharjee