UNLAKECITY - where there was a lake, now there is a city

Geography and Architecture in Mexico City

Exhibition:
28 January - 21 March 2017
Location:
Aedes Architecture Forum
Christinenstr. 18-19
10119 Berlin
Opening Hours:
Tu-Fri 11 am – 6:30 pm
Sun-Mon 1-5 pm

Opening Programme:
Friday, 27 January 2017

Opening lecture:
6:30 pm at ANCB, The Aedes Metropolitan Laboratory,
Christinenstr. 18-19, 10119 Berlin, of Enrique Norten, Architect, Mexico City, New York
Reservierung unter:
reply@aedes-arc.de

Exhibition opening:
7:30 pm at Aedes Architecture Forum
Speaking at the opening:
Dr. h.c. Kristin Feireiss, Aedes Architecture Forum, Berlin
Amb. Carlos de Icaza, Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mexico
Dr. Andreas Görgen, Director General, Cultural affairs and Communication, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Germany
Miquel Adrià and Alejandro Hernández Gálvez, Curators, Mexico City

An Aedes catalogue will be published.

Aedes Cooperation Partners

Amb. Francisco Eduardo Del Río López, General Director for Europe, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mexico
Dr. Andreas Görgen, Director General, Cultural affairs and Communication, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Germany
Speaker: Miquel Adrià, Curator, Mexico City
Speaker: Alejandro Hernández Gálvez, Curator, Mexico City
Mexico City - Where there was a lake, now there is a city, Photo: Pablo Lopez Luz
Water - Where there was a lake, now there is a city. Future project: Viaducto Río Piedad
Project of public space: Culture Fair 2015, Photographer: Rafael Gamo
Project of public space: Culture Fair 2016, Photographers: Jaime Navarro & Rafael Gamo

Video

An exhibition as part of the Mexico Germany Alliance - Dual Year between Mexico and Germany.

“The situation in Mexico is more or less that of Venice. The only difference between them is that Venice is built on the sea and Mexico on a lake.” This is how Thomas Gage, a Dominican monk born in England in 1602 who arrived in 1625 to the New Spain, described Mexico City.

Today, Mexico is the most populous metropolis in America. At two thousand meters above the sea level, it is surrounded by mountains that overpass the three thousand meters of altitude. UNLAKECITY - where there was a lake, now there is a city, is an exhibition that focuses on the geography and the architecture of Mexico City, from the past to the present. Concentrating in two important key subjects - water and the construction of public space, the urban development will be explained visualizing the geographical condition of the city.

Curated by Miquel Adrià and Alejandro Hernández Gálvez, the exhibition's title UNLAKECITY alludes to the transformation that took place over the centuries in the valley of Mexico. The term makes reference to un lago, a lake and unlake, the process of disappearance of the lake through a constant "urban dehydration". The exhibition is divided in two sections: There was a lake and Now there is a city. The first section reflects on the meaning of water within the context of the city. The second section shows projects of public space, not only understood as squares or parks, but including cultural buildings and public institutions, such as museums, schools, markets and hospitals. Each thematic focus briefly describes the history, and shows some present conditions and takes a glance into future projects, with some utopian ideas but also that are already under construction. Besides maps, plans and photographs, the exhibition showcases a topographic model of the valley of Mexico that presents the current hydrological conditions, a video which shows the transformation of the city during the past five hundred years, and a series of interviews with Mexican architects, urbanists and intellectuals.

The exhibition was conceived in the Dual Year between Mexico and Germany.
The Dual Year was established by Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Enrique Peña Nieto to foster mutual understanding, deepen collaboration and endorse exchanges amid both societies that enable to jointly face the XXI century global challenges. The year comprises an ambitious cultural, academic and economic programme which will strengthen the friendship ties that exist between both countries.

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