Jojutla, Morelos, México
Mexican architects Dellekamp/Schleich and Columbian design firm AGENdA Agencia de Arquitectura collaborate to reconstruct the church of the Santuario del Señor de Tula, in Jojutla, Mexico reviving a local heritage site.
The project has been awarded a 2021 International Architecture Award by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.
On September 19, 2017, exactly 32 years after the earthquake that devastated Mexico in 1985, the tragedy was repeated.
Only a few hours after the drill that commemorated this anniversary, Mexico suffered another earthquake that destroyed or rendered uninhabitable public buildings and more than 100,000 homes.
The mobilization and solidarity of civil society were immediate and ranged from mounting vital rescue operations to supplying professional organizations in different areas that were trying to contribute manpower and know-how to deal with urgent needs and plan reconstruction efforts.
Architects in Mexico City focused on a joint initiative called “Reconstruir México” (Rebuild Mexico); hundreds of architects and urban planners came together and tackled the problems from various fronts.
The urgency to resolve immediate needs was fueled by the uncertainty of state aid.
Reconstruction programs normally focus on providing housing materials, and the authorities lose sight of planning and public space under the premise of attending to what appears most urgent.
The team was in charge of the reconstruction of the Santuario del Señor de Tula.
The urgency of the situation required the use of affordable and easily accessible materials and labor, hence the decision to use concrete.
Also, understanding the social and climatic context led them to think about spatial typologies and models according to the place and its opportunities.
Primarily, the idea and possibility of an open chapel was conceived, a home of open doors for every one, in direct contact with public space.
The question was not only to provide a space for worship, but also a place in contact with nature, and as public as possible, especially after a catastrophe, where places for gathering disappear from everyday life.
This project seeks to build threshold spaces, of undefined limits, without clearly distinguishing between interior or exterior; in this ambiguity, they can be used in various ways.
The architects thought about materials in a very pragmatic way; first, in the sense of austerity, resistance, and low maintenance, but also as materiality that could bring in local knowledge and craft.
The church is solved into two different strategies; on the one hand, the material as a brick surface that defines the floor and roof, and the concrete as a bearing structure that operates as a wall-open structure.
This condition gives a sense of openness and resistance, giving confidence and identity to local traditions.
On the other hand, the second strategy was aimed at delivering a space where light, air, the climate could go through, creating and enhancing a different atmosphere for spiritual experience and reflection.
Therefore, the floor has a mild slope, going into the church, allowing people to disconnect from the outside world, without losing it, but at the same time to focus on the experience of faith and sacred ceremony.
Project: Santuario del Señor de Tula
Architects: Dellekamp/Schleich
Associate Architects: AGENdA Agencia de Arquitectura
Client: Infonavit + Fundación Hogares
Contractor: Obras Especializadas De Infraestructura S.A. De C.V.
Photographers: Sandra Pereznieto and Iwan Baan
