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Guadalajara Metropolitan Park

Public Space and Sports Complexes

In 2011, the Guadalajara metropolitan area was set to host the Pan American Games. The Guadalajara Metropolitan Park was chosen to host one of the sports complexes. This process aimed to enhance its 124 hectares and integrate the facilities for future public use.

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The organizing idea consists of a "green skeleton" of linear forests that unify the site and connect it with its surroundings. This integrative scheme is designed to be flexible for various future recreation needs, concentrating community activity around the lake.

Keywords

Innovation / Water Efficiency / Sustainable / Sociability

Awards

SAP

Scope

Master Plan / Urban Design / Landscape Architecture

Location

Guadalajara, Mexico

Details

Size: 124 hectares
Year: 2011

Innovative elements in the landscape

A Dynamic and Ever-changing Scheme

Living and constantly changing scheme

The proposed scheme (green fabric) is a living and constantly changing scheme. It changes with the hours of the day, the seasons, and planned natural succession processes.

Linear forests: Main north-south connectors offering shade, picnic areas, and play areas. An alternating play of light and shadow.

Reserve and urban agriculture area: Retention and capture of rainwater runoff. Crossed by walkways and aqueducts. Includes arboretums and native cultivation.

Linear Forests and Urban Agriculture Zones

Sustainable and educational scheme

It aims to be a sustainable and educational scheme, making natural processes (runoffs, recharge zones) visible and attractive for learning.

Northern sports park: For local and state competitions and training.

Spring plaza: Interactive-educational children's play areas, open-air theater, and storytelling.

Environmental Learning and Reforestation

Community and Socialization Strategies

To be truly sustainable, a landscape must integrate: community, environment, economy, and art. The park features 10 zones with flexible activities.

Linear access plaza: The social heart of the park, featuring the aqueduct fountain, exhibitions, and markets.

Lake Park: Large multi-use area for mass events, framed by a jacaranda walkway and the 360º Metropolitan Viewpoint.

Process

To achieve this goal, the Government of Jalisco, the park management, and the NGO Guadalajara 2020 decided to implement an innovative process that would revolutionize the way public parks are designed in Mexico.

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The first part, called "PLACEMAKING," involved communication, socialization, and citizen participation to generate a program of uses and recommendations based on users' opinions and preferences and on-site observations.

The two-month study produced a recommendation book of over 100 pages, led by Guillermo Peñalosa (former director of open space planning in Colombia, and director of 8-80 cities) and his team.


The second part consisted of a national invitation-only competition among the best firms with experience in designing similar public spaces.


The creative activity was regulated by the results of the Placemaking document and had to take into account the history of transformations and elements of the park's past that shape its current reality.



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