BIAN+CRAC
Due to the identity crisis in the agricultural world caused by the industrialization and dehumanization of field production processes, a new agricultural model is proposed.
The demand for Agave-derived products, such as tequila, mezcal, and sisal fibers, which were once cultivated and processed using ancestral techniques, has led to a gradual disappearance of small local producers and the massification of farmlands towards technological exploitation. Due to the identity crisis in the agricultural world caused by the industrialization and dehumanization of field production processes, a new agricultural model is proposed.
LA SISALERÍA redefines the traditional sisal fiber production process through a contemporary architectural review. A prominent structure in the landscape houses a new local cooperative. A large mesh, where sisal leaves are arranged for drying, contains the necessary tools for processing both the leaves for fiber manufacturing and the sisal mezcal extraction process for exportation. This is a space for local entrepreneurs connecting their production to a multifunctional device in the landscape, designed with a focus on production processes.
This project proposes the inclusion of a series of infrastructural devices in the Yucatecan landscape, recovering the spirit of haciendas and rethinking them from a contemporary and technologized perspective, returning the land to local producers. Self-sufficient productive artifacts through which to revive ancient tradition, bringing it closer to the contemporary public and its consumption and leisure demands.
These autonomous devices will become the germ of new cities. Flexible in programs and construction, open and completely transformable by the surrounding populations. Technology and tradition have merged to progress without letting go of the past. This architecture, designed to accommodate any type of program, will gradually lose its mechanical identity to become the living reflection of Mexican culture; of the people who inhabit the villages and work the land; of the places that should never have lost their precious identity.
Authors: BIAN+CRAC.
Website: bian-office.com + tallercrac.com
Location: Yucatan, Mexico.
Year: 2020
Competition: Premio Felix Candela 2020.
Prize: 1st prize.