The Nonoalco-Tlatelolco Urban Complex, an iconic work by Mario Pani, celebrates 60 years as a symbol of modernity, history and transformation in Mexico City.
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Tlatelolco: Mario Pani's Modern Utopia
Mario Pani's legacy in Mexico City is everywhere, but the one that stands out the most is Tlatelololco. Originally called Conjunto Urbano Presidente Adolfo López Mateos, because it was built during his presidency.
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Its excavation began in April 1944, on the land that belonged to the Mexican Railroad warehouses and its construction displaced more than 7,000 people, however its creation represented the utopia of seeing a modern Mexico; it is enough to see the advertisements of the time, promoting the unit and its different apartments, to realize that this type of housing really represented an advance of luxury and modernity for the families that formerly inhabited the neighborhoods of the same area.
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Inaugurated on November 21, 1964 with the promise of change, modernity and a better quality of life for the working class, the Conjunto Urbano Nonoalco-Tlatelolco was built on 964,000 square meters. Originally, it had 12,000 apartments distributed in 112 buildings within three sections: Independencia, Reforma and República.
This masterpiece by Mario Pani was developed under the precepts of efficiency and speed inspired by the Swiss architect Le Corbusier, who proposed maximizing space through vertical towers and common areas. The idea was to use the land efficiently to provide housing for more people in the same place (although today this has some locals a little fed up, but hey...). In addition, the first floors integrated stores and services, fulfilling the concept of being a "city within the city".
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Originally Tlatelolco had 6 hospitals/clinics, 3 sports centers, 4 theaters, a movie theater, a day care center, a primary school, a high school, the polytechnic high school 4 that collapsed in 1985, 600 stores, kindergartens, a road system and its own subway station. Everything, to eliminate the "slum belt" that surrounded the historic center.
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A legacy of stories and scars
Nevertheless, Tlatelolco's destiny has been irremediably marked by tragedies. From the fall of Tenochtitlán -which really happened in Tlatelolco-, to the student massacre of October 2, 1968 in the Plaza de las Tres Culturas, under the Díaz Ordaz regime, to the 1985 earthquake that collapsed the Nuevo León building. Each event left indelible scars, both in its landscape and in the memory of its inhabitants.
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Today, the unit's problems are more day-to-day, but just as significant. Like many housing units, Tlatelolco faces community organization challenges that hinder its maintenance and development. As a micro-city, responsibilities are often diluted among many and, at the same time, fall on no one. This generates a dependence on the government to resolve issues that, ideally, should be addressed through neighborhood cooperation.
✨ Explore Tlatelolco with Rodrigo Torres ✨.
Don't miss the Local Guide of How to Tour Tlatelololco with Rodrigo Torres, director of Mirador Tlatelololco. Find out what he is passionate about, what he would change and who are the characters, spaces and projects that today give life to this iconic urban complex. Everything, in this article that you can't miss.
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