Urban Spa
Urban Spa It is a temporary infrastructure built collectively in Urueta Park in Chihuahua (Mexico) during the Desert Workshop 2015.
More than a pavilion or an installation, it is a urban activation which transforms the inactive heart of the park—a disused public fountain—into a space for meeting, collective enjoyment, and neighborhood reappropriation.
The project is articulated as a sensitive scenography around the water, capable of transforming the everyday landscape into a regenerating and shared experience.
"The fountain ceases to be a forgotten urban object and becomes an emotional and tactical epicenter."
Strategy
The architectural strategy is based on a process of active listening, co-design, and self-construction.
Through participatory workshops with neighbors, the fountain was identified as the symbolic and emotional point of the park..
The proposal consisted of renovating it and providing it with a habitable environment: wooden platforms, shaded areas, hammocks, planters, and accessible elements built with scaffolding, pallets, and recycled materials.
The installation generates a social and climatic microclimate, which activates pre-existing dynamics—such as Zumba classes, yoga, or informal activities—and transforms public space into a truly spontaneous urban facility.
Impact
Urban Spa demonstrates how a minimal intervention, built with limited resources but shared intelligence, can generate a high impact on urban life.
Its success lies not only in its form or function, but in its ability to articulate alliances, activate collective memories and open up possible futures.
From an abandoned fountain, a replicable model of urban regeneration based on care, play, and sustainability is projected.
Its symbolic and climatic reactivation transforms the ephemeral into the structural.
"Urban Spa reactivates the common space through everyday desire: shade, water, and encounter."
year of construction
2015
total built volume
(adaptable to space)
total built area
120 m² approx.
customer
ISAD
Institute of Architecture and
Chihuahua Design
location
Chihuahua (Mexico)
situation
Finalized
typology
Ephemeral
Sustainable
Innovation
Culture
City
Social
disciplines
Ephemeral Architecture
Urban intervention
Experiential design
Participatory installation
Comprehensive Management
Specialized consulting
impacts
Differentiating Concept
Greater social value
Precision and innovation
Lower environmental impact
