Tecnologico de Monterrey Campus Master Plan

When Mexico City was struck with a 7.1 magnitude earthquake in 2017, Tecnologico de Monterrey’s campus was extensively damaged. Several students lost their lives and most academic buildings were in need of demolition. Post cleanup, the design team was engaged to quickly generate ideas and master plan for the reconstruction while casting a new vision for resiliency. The project was fast tracked for a reopening date of 2020.

The campus was previously isolated from the city due to a wall surrounding the campus. The team set to changing that through inclusion of urban parks and plazas; creating a campus that is an urban oasis for the surrounding community. Also, mitigation of annual flooding led to the urban face of the campus being raised through a blending of bio-swales, terraces, pedestrian porches, and larger public gathering spaces. Careful consideration was made to avoid impacting a substantial amount of existing trees and also creating an on-campus tree-farm to enhance future phases of the campus.

Due to the mild climate, it was possible to naturally ventilate the buildings during most times of the year, which was a key for a campus with a focus on sustainability and resiliency.  A pergola provides heat gain reduction and is the framework for a continuous PV array; reducing the campus’ carbon footprint.  While each building employs a similar façade system, the spatial approach is very different for each allowing for variations for the educational program uses.  While one building is focused on more lab focused uses surrounding a large central atrium, the other houses more flexible teaching spaces which are connected via a cascading learning stair to facilitate cross-pollination between various academic programs.