Mexican architect designs skyscraper — below ground
Baku, October 24 (AZERTAC). Architect Emelio Barjau makes it sound like the most natural thing in the world: Since rules forbid building on the Zocalo, Mexico City`s vast central square, the cleverest alternative is to dig deep and build an inverted skyscraper far below the earth.
It`s called an Earthscraper, a 65-storey pyramid that tips out 300 metres below the surface.
The “Earthscraper” is the creation of BNKR Arquitectura and features mixed residential and retail space, a museum of Aztec and Mayan artefacts and 35 floors for offices.
The top of the structure is covered by a glass roof, with daring guests able to walk across the huge hole. The central void allows natural light and air ventilation.
The challenge was to design a project for a space that was, on the surface, untouchable.
Some of Mexico`s most important national buildings — its cathedral, museum and palace — border the 57,000-square-metre plaza, one of the biggest in the world. The site is drenched in history and beneath it is archeological treasure. The Aztecs built their pyramids there, on a marshy island on Lake Texcoco. As their empire grew, they erected their great city, Tenochtitlбn, on top of the older pyramids. The Spanish conquerors razed those landmarks to create the colonial city that still exists.
Excavation stops until artifacts are properly registered, then work continues, Barjau says. But, as this plan is without precedent, new regulations might have to be developed.
Nothing can be built higher than eight storeys and no higher than the cathedral. To do so, says Barjau, would be disrespectful to Mexico`s sense of identity and to the site itself.
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