Category: Landscape architecture and public space
Project design: 501 Durán Arquitectos ↑ Arch. Luis Miguel Durán López
Concept and coordination of work: Taller5
Architects: Arch. Elisa Lerma García de Quevedo, Arch. Octavio Arreola Calleros
Collaborators: Skate Zone
ARCHITECTURE BRAND: Arch. Mariano Arreola Calleros
Construction: GRK Group: Eng. Luis Ricardo Villalobos
Location: Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico
Year: 2018
Area: 38,000.00 m2
Photography: Allen Vallejo

The Miguel Hidalgo Park, in León, Guanajuato, Mexico, had been increasingly abandoned, given its unattractive structural characteristics, so our recovery work consisted of restoring its primary vocation at the service of the people.

The work included active and passive recreation areas, spaces where you can spend time, either sitting or walking, an intervention strategy in the landscaping area, and a space for outdoor performances. The objective is to convert it into a meeting point.

The rescue project clearly solved the main and secondary circulations with the creation of small squares in strategic places, which generate meeting points, the concentration of youth and children’s recreation areas, the integration of an activity track for urban sports and the redesign of the service modules, as well as the recovery of the open-air entertainment forum.

In the landscaping project, the rescue of endemic species, the sanitation and reforestation of the existing areas was proposed, in addition to the proposal of free transit through the green areas, which are now provided with urban furniture to promote the meeting, the opportunity to sit down to talk and share everyday life. The project takes advantage of the benefits of having a wastewater treatment plant located in the western part of the park, which will guarantee its constant irrigation.

The materials used seek to maintain a neutral color range in an attempt to maintain and highlight the brightness of the \”green\” tonality and textures, thus the external pavements and the buildings are manifested in apparent concrete, the pavements of the squares were made in flagstone with a subtle gesture in a red tone, and the pavement of the main circulation axis creates a rhythm with pieces in different sizes and cloths.

The street furniture meets the needs of the public space through three simple designs, defined by simple geometric lines, while providing a utilitarian solution to the passerby, whether it is to park the bicycle or carry out different urban activities.

The rehabilitation actions were carried out knowing and understanding the user, who in this way becomes the central figure, as an inherent element of the space, since it serves for the construction and consolidation of citizenship. Parque Hidalgo now has the capacity to host the urban acts that our society demands, in addition to having become an important social and economic detonator for the Barrio Arriba area.