Project Description
Citica is a 25-story mixed-use development that has transformed an abandoned lot into a vibrant center for living and working in the heart of Monterrey, Mexico. Located along Avenida Venustiano Carranza two miles from the city center, the development is intended to serve as a catalyst for a municipal plan to provide pedestrian improvements to major transit corridors radiating from downtown Monterrey.
The architects’ first priority was the creation of a pedestrian-friendly experience that would enhance the level of activity at the street. Situated on a polygonal corner site, the bottom two floors of the development contain shops and restaurants that spill out onto a landscaped public pedestrian promenade shaded by a screen of aluminum tubes cut at random lengths.
Wrapping a six-level parking garage above the commercial base, the tube screen is a unifying architectural element that screens the garage and shades the retail spaces while allowing in natural light. Over three hundred linear feet of the trellis were peeled away from the superstructure of the parking garage, resulting in a shaded public plaza that occupies the most prominent corner of the development. At the corner of the site, a concrete staircase forms an open and inviting transition to the shops and offices above.
Rising above the commercial base, two distinct rectangular volumes contain eight levels of office space and nine floors of residential apartments. Vertical trellises on the east and west façades provide a unifying visual component that emphasizes the verticality of the tower; in addition, they serve as solar screens that block undesirable exposures. Facing north and south, the apartments and workspaces feature horizontal ribbon windows that provide sweeping views of the city to the north and the peaks of the Sierra Madre Oriental to the south.