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María Ribera: urban recycling for sustainable development

2022 Jul 29

Recycling is a key element to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations 2030 Agenda. Although recycling focuses on raw materials, there are other elements that can be subjected to this procedure; for example, urban infrastructure. Urban recycling takes advantage of abandoned or underutilized spaces, structures or buildings, modifying and/or adapting their original use to extend their useful life cycle.

 

One of the main elements of urban recycling is creativity since, in addition to the utilitarian aspects, it is also about preserving the cultural and natural heritage of cities, as well as the aesthetic, architectural and historical value of the buildings and communities where are located.

 

Appealing to our innovative and resilient character, as well as our commitment to comply with the SDGs, in 2013, Marhnos Hábitat developed the María Ribera residential complex, in the place where the old La Cubana chocolate factory was previously located, founded in 1872 on Cedro street, in the Santa María La Ribera neighborhood.

 

In this project we merge tradition and culture with modernity and avant-garde, by restoring the historic facades of the factory, cataloged by the National Institute of Fine Arts and Literature (INBA), and integrating them into 242 apartments, distributed in 13 buildings; we recovered one of the warehouses of the original building to make gymnasiums, a library and an events room. In addition, we preserved the trees that were inside and created a park and children's play area.

 

For its originality, functionality, social impact and architectural achievement, in 2017 with María Ribera we obtained the Noldi Schreck award, organized by Glocal Design Magazine, which rewards the best of architecture and interior design in Mexico. We won the LA Architectural Awards from the Los Angeles Business Council (LABC) and the Association of Real Estate Developers (ADI) awarded us first place in their award for the best real estate development of that year in the country.

 

By recovering the original industrial character of the building and merging it with the comforts of residential housing, María Ribera became a unique living space, a benchmark for architectural design and urban recycling in Santa María La Ribera, one of the neighborhoods with the greatest cultural and historical wealth of the Mexican capital.