Tecoh (Architectural Commission)

Pardo was commissioned to design a series of buildings to be used for seminars and conferences by the La Vaca Independiente foundation, Mexico City. The given site, the small town of Tecoh in the Northern Yucatan jungle, contained the remains of a nineteenth century hacienda. Rather than removing the ruins, Pardo chose to work with them. The result is a highly unique series of buildings in which the past and present intermingle. Using local craftsmen to fabricate the buildings, including all of its detailing (tiles, iron and wood work), Pardo slowly developed the project over a six year period. ‘Tecoh’ is an example of what has been termed in architectural discourse ‘critical regionalism’, in which spatial and formal elements from the local culture of the site inflect the design and fabrication of new buildings there.