More than 10,000 people use Plaza Estación Zapopan Centro every day, an urban landscape design by Estudio 3.14 for the Zapopan Municipal Government. It is one of the
most significant stations on the third line of the Tren Ligero (‘‘Light Train’’ in Spanish), a new metro line in Guadalajara. Situated in a multipurpose public space, it serves as a park, station, plaza, and the beginning of a pedestrian walkway. This variety of options, including motorized, public, and non-motorized transportation, reduces people’s travel times. In addition, this new public site includes 2,700 square meters of green space with a group of 150 trees, which makes it ideal for both pedestrian circulation and prolonged user stay, as it includes a square with all the amenities users could possibly need for a short period of time. Even in the middle of such a busy quarter of the city, the area became calm and pleasant.
Studio Name: Estudio 3.14
Design Team:
Leonardo Díaz Borioli Ph.D. – Creative Director
Gerardo Sánchez Sendra MBA – Executive Director
Noé Rodríguez León – Design Director
Bernardo Alvarado – Project Manager
Leonardo Vera – Architecture & Technical Supervision
Joao Teles – Architecture & Landscape Design
Álvaro Ascencio – Architecture
Alejandro Echavarría – Architecture
Area: 1.3 hectares
Year: 2021
Location: Zapopan, Jalisco, México.
Consultants: IHS (hydraulic infrastructure), EPS Vial (Traffic Engineering Study)
Photography Credits: Alejandro Cartagena
With the addition of the new set of green spaces and public, a park that was previously lost in traffic lanes is now accessible to the more than 13,000 neighbors and transitory users who participated in a social investigation workshop implemented by Estudio 3.14 as part of the design process. We were able to put into practice the needs identified in such workshop with the Zapopan community through comprehensive design, including better lighting, integrating motorized and non-motorized public transportation, creating areas for cultural activities, and having a lot of greenery.
Our own rainwater harvesting system and a water-saving drip irrigation system are used to partially irrigate the new green spaces. The Virgin of Zapopan, a symbol for Zapopan and the entire Guadalajara Metropolitan Area for its traditional route every October 12, was designed with the blue and white colors typical of the Virgin in mind – an historical celebration that has been held annually since the XVIII century. Estación Zapopan Centro exhibits a public area that encourages walking, incorporates a green landscape into its design, adheres to high standards for public space, and—most importantly—was created with input from the residents it serves.
After the co-design process, realized in conjunction with a team of more than 50 individuals, drawn from various governmental levels, civil society organizations, consultants, and experts, we conducted an analysis to determine how to carry out the vision outlined in the plan and achieve the project’s goals. Estudio 3.14 was able to capture the project’s demands and urgencies through the work of more than 30 worktables with neighbors and users during the summer of 2018. We ranked and understood the list of requirements for Plaza Zapopan Centro in order of priority through the SiMEP (Metropolitan System of Public Spaces, UN-HABITAT 2016 award, designed by Estudio 3.14). The objective of using the SIiMEP as an instrument, together with the needs extracted in the design and workshop process, achieved that 1. Through evidence and hard data, decision-making aimed at creating Plaza Estación Zapopan Centro could be accelerated; and 2. That a sustainable project could access a budget of $47 million pesos. This co-design strategy ensured the efficiency of the resources that reach a maximum performance and that translate into social welfare.
