“Conquering Water Flows” investigates the layered relationships between water, territory, and cosmological worldviews in the Basin of Mexico, tracing how, during the Spanish occupation, water strategies on hydrological systems shaped today’s socio-environmental crises. Anchored in Aztec circular water infrastructures and sacred understandings of landscape, the project reframes water not only as a technical challenge, but as a cultural and spatial force. Through fieldwork in the Chalco Valley—visiting the Tláhuac-Xico lake and engaging with local actors—the research connects historical knowledge to present-day conditions of over-extraction, flooding, subsidence, and infrastructural dependency.

The design proposes “The Tianguis Project”, a spatial and material framework that reclaims Aztec ecological logic to develop regenerative, adaptive architecture. Integrating regional, bio-based materials and layered soil-water systems inspired by chinampas, the project supports a resilient public program responsive to shifting ground conditions. Rather than treating architecture as a static object, it is conceived as an evolving interface—between water and land, history and future, infrastructure and culture.

Ultimately, the project offers a critical lens on Mexico City’s hydrological legacy while proposing a grounded design approach that bridges pre-Hispanic knowledge, ecological resilience, and Mexico City’s contemporary society.
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