Unidad Diseño

Tlalpuente Masterplan

This project, on which we worked for several years, brought about fond childhood memories - a tree shade, the murmur of a stream, the color and smell of a flower- and became the starting point for a lasting respect for nature’s greatest achievement: the tree. In those days, green masterplans, sustainability, carbon offsetting, ecology, were seldom acknowledged concepts, much less applied. But it was easy to recognize the aesthetic and comfort qualities revealed by the magnificent trees in the area, mainly tepozanes (Buddleja Cordata), cedars and holm oaks.
With the premise that “the woods come first”, Tlalpuente managed to become the first ZEDEC (Special Zone of Controlled Development) in the city, with a total surface area of 146 hectares

Over the past 40 years, Tlalpuente has maintained total respect for the existing ecosystem on the foothills of the Xitle, with single-family houses following strictly controlled intensity and land usage rules. There is only one house per 5000 sq.m., and there is frequent use of ecological building solutions. The micro ecosystem of holm oaks, cedars, tepozanes, strawberry trees and the undergrowth has been preserved, as well as the local fauna. In this way, Mexico City still has an important area contributing to the replenishing of the Xochimilco groundwater reserves.