We are pleased to announce that Forum Cuernavaca was the recipient of a 2018 ICSC Caribbean and Latin America Design Award.
Located an hour South of Mexico City, in a town dubbed “The City of Eternal Spring”, Forum Cuernavaca is a 600,000 sq. ft. hybrid outlet/lifestyle retail development by Mexico City-based developer GICSA that transforms a former garment factory complex into a new outdoor retail and entertainment complex.
Many retail projects today seem to be searching for an identity - the tenant mix and architectural expression varying little from one place to the next. At Forum Cuernavaca we had a unique opportunity to create something very different because of the existing abandoned concrete and steel buildings. Two key sustainable factors were considered in the evolution of the project: the adaptive reuse of the majority of existing buildings and creating a design that would take advantage of Cuernavaca’s benign climate.
This design approach creates a unique visual identity and customer experience: for example in some areas there are huge concrete beams spanning across the open mall areas; in other areas there are arcades created under the existing concrete vaults, as well as freestanding trellis structures made from beams and columns of the existing buildings. The result is a series of one-of-a-kind public gathering spaces framed by the refurbished factory buildings.
By keeping the existing buildings and working within them and around them we are saving resources and recognizing the history of the site, which for many years provided employment for residents of Cuernavaca before the factory had to be shut down. This is a way of respecting the historical evolution of the context in which Forum Cuernavaca is located, and honoring its past, rather than erasing it.
Not only is the history of the site recognized, but it is used to create a retail destination that is unique to Cuernavaca and to the State of Morelos.
For additional project details and design renderings please click here.
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