Chosen from five finalists and 55 nominees, the Pavilion on the Zocalo, by Mexico City firm Productora, was selected by a jury that included design educators, editors and architects, including awards founder Wiel Arets.
Part of the Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize program, launched in 2014 by Wiel Arets, MCHAP.emerge recognizes works by emerging practices and is one of two awards handed out this year; the next edition in 2018 will also include a student category. The MCHAP initiative is overseen by the Illinois Institute of Technology College of Architecture, where Arets is dean.
Pavilion on the Zocalo was devised to represent Mexico City at a national cultural fair, held in the city’s main square. Standing over 7.5 metres tall, it was assembled on site, over seven days, using a series of prefabricated components. The main structure takes the form of an equilateral triangle, with 15-metre-long walls that wrap around a soaring, columnless interior. The structural load is supported by a roof made up of a grid of triangular segments. An elevated boardwalk branches off of one corner; at the opposite one, a ramp spirals down to ground level to provide an access point to the interior.
The project beat out these five other finalists for the award:
C.I.D.; Road to Ayquina, Chile; Emilio Marin & Juan Carlos Lopez arquitectos
OZCondominiums; Winnipeg; 5468796 Architecture
San Francisco Building; Asunción, Paraguay; Jose Cubilla & Asociados
Haffenden House; Syracuse, United States; Jon Lott, PARA Project
The winner of the overall MCHAP 2014/15 will be announced in late June.