CUXTAL ANTHROPOCENE RECOVERY CENTER

The Cuxtal Anthropocene Recovery Center transforms a closing limestone quarry within the Cuxtal Ecological Reserve, Mexico, into a regenerative socio-ecological habitat. Located in a protected landscape that supplies a significant portion of Mérida’s drinking water, the project responds to the environmental scars of extraction, rapid urban expansion, and the lack of public infrastructure in surrounding communities.

Rather than leaving this industrial wound exposed and unresolved, the proposal analyzes its condition and transforms its geological, ecological, and industrial traces into resources for recovery. It turns the problem into an advantage, healing the site while also providing surrounding communities with essential resources such as water and biogas. Through a strategy termed Regenerative Sculpting, the exposed quarry is reshaped into a productive landscape where ecological restoration, scientific research, resource production, and community life coexist.

A network of algae ponds, water treatment systems, aquaculture facilities, community gardens, and public spaces forms a circular infrastructure that cleans water, produces biogas, supports local food production, and creates new economic opportunities. Embedded within a limestone island, the architectural program is carved directly into the rock mass, benefiting from natural thermal regulation, daylight shafts, and passive ventilation.

By reusing on-site materials and existing industrial structures, the project proposes a new future for post-extraction landscapes, one where the scars of the Anthropocene become catalysts for ecological regeneration, collective learning, and community resilience. Beyond the Cuxtal quarry, the proposal also presents a transferable recovery model for the hundreds of abandoned limestone quarries scattered across the Yucatán Peninsula.

Algae production studies were tested through a prototype in Mérida and documented in collaboration with Prof. Manuel Sarcistan. The social requirements of the environment were developed with psychologist Dr. Dora Talavera. For limestone integration, stone samples from Mérida were analyzed with input from engineer Klaus Ronholt, and material tests were conducted. Light penetration through rock-cut spaces was studied using Grasshopper simulations. Spatial orientations were shaped according to prevailing wind directions, and airflow tunnels were designed between the interior spaces. Throughout the process, the effects of light and spatial perception were also explored through physical models.