Parque Emancipación

This project originates from studies conducted in the master’s programme Architecture & Extreme Environments at the Royal Danish Academy in Copenhagen. The programme investigates the field of architecture and its relation to environmental challenges through a site-specific approach based on contextual analysis. Through on-site involvement and field-based research, an understanding of the destination’s cultural, climatic and geographic conditions is established, forming the basis for architectural investigation tailored to the specific context.

Research and study of the destination generate areas of interest to be explored through architectural investigations, including the development of 1:1 prototypes that are tested on site during fieldwork.

In November and December 2025, the programme undertook a field study to the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico. As part of this field study, previous research conducted by the author focused on Mérida and its urban environment. This work addressed the city’s pronounced urban heat island effect through the design and on-site testing of a plant fibre façade prototype, combining waste coffee-sack materials and native Tillandsia species. The prototype explored the potential of small-scale architectural interventions to reduce surface and near-surface air temperatures on sun-exposed urban façades.

The project reimagines Parque Emancipación in the Vergel II neighbourhood of Mérida, Mexico as a shared structure where housing, sport, and public life coexist within a single architectural system. Rather than replacing the existing football ground, the proposal builds around and above it, preserving its role as neighbourhood infrastructure while increasing the site's capacity to accommodate growth.

The football pitch remains at the centre of the project, complemented by upgraded sport facilities, shaded public spaces, community functions, and new green areas designed for everyday use. By introducing housing within an existing urban district, the project explores an alternative to the continued outward expansion of the city and the loss of public space to development.

The housing is organised as an adaptable framework rather than a fixed product. Residents receive a complete dwelling while retaining the ability to expand, modify, or reconfigure parts of their home over time according to changing family needs and economic circumstances. Through this approach, the project investigates how housing can support long-term growth without requiring additional land consumption, while strengthening the social and environmental role of the site.

Solar simulations were used to investigate how the proposed housing structure could improve environmental conditions on the site. By casting shade across portions of the football pitch and surrounding public areas throughout the day, the intervention reduces direct solar exposure during morning and afternoon hours. This increases the daily usability of the facility, extending opportunities for training, recreation, organised matches, and everyday public use during periods of extreme heat.