For its first project in Mexico, Zaha Hadid Architects is giving it the old college try—or so it seems.
Nestled below the Huajuco Canyon southwest of Monterrey, Esfera City Center is a honeycomb-styled residential complex that has the aura of a college campus—though one drenched in luxury.
Esfera City Center is a honeycomb-styled, energy-efficient complex that uses the surrounding environment to reduce solar gain and capture prevailing winds.
Closer up, they resemble a matrix of stacked adobes (likely cement rather than the dried-brick variety) that could very easily double as balconied co-ed dormitories replete with terrace plateaus that virtually mimic the surrounding mountainous terrain. The juxtaposed, jutting balconies create efficient façades that optimize passive cooling.
The juxtaposed balcony façades recall coed dormitories with many expansive terraces.
Esfera City Center resembles an upscale college campus.
Ester City Center's campus features internal and external courtyards, gardens and public spaces.
Esfera City Center meets CPTED standards which reduces crime and its low-rise façades optimize passive cooling.
Eschewing tall tower structures, Zaha Hadid Architects designed a cluster of interconnected low-rise buildings encircling internal and external courtyards, gardens and public spaces that meet CPTED (Crime Prevention through Environmental Design) standards for a safer neighborhood.
Esfera City Center boasts modern interiors, including this lobby.
Amenities include a pool and fitness area.
The complex features 981 modern-interior residences ranging from single-person lofts to four-bedroom apartments. Reportedly, Esfera City Center will be constructed in three phases, the first of which will include 353 units. The project is scheduled for completion in 2018.
