El camino del agua

Project implementation: Mexico
Project development: Mexico

This project is a public washhouse designed to address the water crisis that the community of La Huerta de San Agustín has suffered in recent years. The aim was to design a dignified space, expanding the current work area and respecting the water source from a nearby natural spring.

The students were tasked with developing a collaborative assessment to understand the community's needs and demands through a series of interactive activities, which led to an architectural program. This program includes the laundry room itself with an attached playground, where children can spend time under the watchful eye of their mothers; along with this, there is an area for hanging clothes and a multipurpose rest area that offers views of the nearby rainwater harvesting area.

After several months of work, the students presented their projects to the community, who voted on their favorite design. The winning project was inspired by water lilies, natural biofilters, for the structure, given the project's connection to water and the surrounding natural environment. Each space is built on its own individual wooden structure, supported by a central column where the roof acts as a funnel that collects water and carries it to a cistern. This water is then used by people to wash their clothes and is then directed to a biofilter that cleans it, allowing it to be reused. Each material was chosen taking into account availability, ease of construction, environmental impact, and budget, which depends on donations from those willing to support the cause. This ongoing project represents the efforts of countless people, from teachers to students to the community itself, showing how their combined efforts can lead to something that goes even further than just themselves.

Participate in the program of debates, workshops and associated activities!

TODAY (10.10)

2:30 pm – table Risk-Free Periphery in the Context of Climate Change

4pm – table Knowing to Transform: Community Climate Risk Reduction and Adaptation Plans

6:30 pm – table Inclusive Adaptation: Nature-Based Solutions in the Peripheries

9am – Drawing Workshop: Oscar Niemeyer's Architecture in Ibirapuera Park and the Climate Challenge

IN THE NEXT DAYS (11 to 14.10)

ATTENTION the table Palmas: For 36 years, the ecological capital of Tocantins which would be held on 10/11 | 7pm was canceled.

11.10 and 12.10 | 9am – workshop Inventa(rio) Fronteiras: Playing for Multispecies Cities

11.10 | 10am – workshop Elémenterre teaching bag

11.10 | 11am – table Learning to inhabit the Anthropocene: the crisis of architecture

11.10 | 2pm – table Architecture for Learning and Civic Use

11.10 | 3pm – table Culture and Public Architecture

11.10 – 15h – workshop Elémenterre teaching bag

11.10 | 4pm – table Reconnecting with Nature & Circular Design

11.10 | 5pm – table Architecture of Belonging: Interpreting Heritage Through Place

12.10 | 10am – table Experience: Climate Refuges and Naturalized Public Spaces, with Eco-Neighborhood

12.10 | 10:30 am – table Childhoods and Climate: Climate Justice in Vulnerable Territories

12.10 | 10:30 am – Windsock Workshop with the Floating Collective

12.10 | 3pm – table Doing a lot with a little: architectures for a planet in transition with Esteban Benavides from Al Borde office

12.10 | 4:30 pm – table Earth – building a sustainable and democratic future

12.10 | 5:45 pm – table French presence at the Biennale and screening of the film AJAP – Albums of Young Architects and Landscape Architects

13.10 – activity Pantanal Action at IABsp

10/14 | 10am – table Urgent Panorama! Space as an act of permanence

14.10 | 6pm – Launch of the “Nature-Based Education” Guide

JOIN! IT'S ALL FREE!

And there's much more until October 19th!

NOTE OF CONDOLENCE

With deep sorrow, the Brazilian Institute of Architects – São Paulo Department (IABsp) mourns the passing of architect and landscape architect Kongjian Yu, a global leader in ecological urbanism, and the members of his team who accompanied him, tragically killed during the filming of a documentary. The institute is honored to have had him as a participant in the 14th São Paulo International Architecture Biennial, where his transformative vision strengthened the dialogue between global challenges and local realities. IABsp emphasizes that Yu's contribution, which transcends borders, will remain an inspiration for generations and expresses its condolences to China, to the families of all the deceased, to his friends, and to all those impacted by his genius and dedication. Read the full note here.

Karina Schwartzman, Roberto Villaseñor, Romina Arredondo, Regina Gómez