When an ambitious community infrastructure project was first announced, the people of Jalpa de Méndez were wary. Located in the Mexican state of Tabasco, the city harbours a population of around 90,000 and, until recently, lacked adequate public spaces. The unfinished structure for a gym sat dilapidated in the middle of a park; the baseball stadium was falling apart; an annual marketplace had to be improvised by citizens, who set up their makeshift shops using tarps and metal rods. Promises from local politicians to address these issues had been made and broken enough times in the past to leave residents disillusioned.

The Community Development Centre’s amber concrete not only pays tribute to its region’s heritage but also serves as a warm backdrop to the surrounding greenery.

“We faced a great deal of distrust in the program,” says Bernardo Quinzaños, founder of Mexico City–based firm Centro de Colaboración Arquitectónica (CCA). In 2020, as part of the Program for Urban Improve-ment, Quinzaños was commissioned by the federal Secretariat of Agrarian, Land, and Urban Development (SEDATU) to design — among three other public projects — a Community Development Centre for the city. After being briefed on the site, his team conducted a series of interviews with residents to determine their needs and aspirations for the CDC, which would include spaces for workshops, a library, an auditorium and flexible areas to gather for cultural events. Throughout the design process, there was an ongoing dialogue between the architects and the community, but “in many ways, their skepticism persisted until the building was finished,” Quinzaños says. 

Eight arches sweep from one side of the structure to the other, passing above an inner courtyard sheltered from the heat.

In the perennial heat of Jalpa de Méndez, the CDC stands today as an urban oasis. Quinzaños opted against the conventional approach of enclosing the entire building and relying solely on air conditioning. Instead, he embraced the challenge of integrating open spaces that could be experienced comfortably despite the punishing climate. The solution was to organize the building’s program around a verdant central courtyard traversed by eight distinctive arches, creating a cool microclimate conducive to human activity. Additionally, these arches cast a dynamic play of shadows that provide the interior spaces with an interesting view.

In a nod to the city’s history, the concrete used for the CDC was tinted an orange tone, reminiscent of the arcade balustrade located in Jalpa de Méndez’s historic centre. “The four projects that we designed for the city share this element as a way to unify their identity and connect them to the past,” says Quinzaños. (The firm’s other local work includes indoor and outdoor sports facilities and a large park pavilion.)

The centre combines a mix of cultural and educational spaces, including a library, workshops and an auditorium.

Since its completion in 2022, the CDC has been embraced by the local community as a new stage for their cultural activities to unfold. Neighbours gather in the courtyard to hold assemblies, children eagerly explore the library and artists showcase their talents in the multi-purpose hall, fostering a vibrant exchange that was once absent. While Quinzaños views this as a triumph, he remains cognizant that the building’s ultimate success hinges on effective management, and that architecture alone cannot resolve the challenges that a society faces. He often employs the analogy of a computer: In public projects such as this, he explained, if the hardware is the architects’ job, the software is the city’s responsibility.