Liberty Plaza 2010-

Located in the Santa Fe district of Mexico City, Liberty Plaza is a mixed-use building complex comprised of three 15-story towers. The gently sloping site is bound by three avenues and a large commercial project to its north. Nature reserves to the south and the east afford dramatic panoramas of the city valley, surrounding mountains and distant volcanoes. With 1.5 million square feet of underground parking, commercial office space, retail space and a hotel, Liberty Plaza represents an architecturally striking landmark for the capital of Mexico. The complex is conceptualized as three carved and shaped prisms, each unique in their massing and in constant dialogue with each other. The buildings flow through the site and embrace its undulating boundaries and slope, with one independent hotel tower and two office towers linked by a multilevel conference center.  Each office tower is configured with open floor plates designed to maximize efficiency and leasable space. A typical floor is arranged with the core placed to the north, freeing the south, east and west for office space with premium views and daylight. The towers are separated to allow for construction phasing with the conference center ‘bridge’ on the second floor to be built last, conceptually connecting the two as a single entity.  In addition to the two office towers, the W Santa Fe hotel will complete the design of the complex and anchor the eastern corner of the site. In this unique urban setting the hotel will be the centerpiece of a new business district attracting visitors, travelers and businessmen. A series of guestroom and public terraces with views to the city start at ground level and climb the façade, as landscaped green gardens and establish a dialogue with the nature reserve across the street.  The south façades of the two office towers are expressed with external louvers to help maximize energy efficiency and with the articulated screens of clear and reflective glass pulled forward from the prisms. Liberty Plaza’s curtain wall is designed to provide heat gain control and filter daylight without compromising tenant views. While a sibling to the office towers in form and movement, the hotel’s facades are articulated as primary and secondary modules with operable windows behind the louvers.  The materiality and color in each building will make the surfaces appear to transform throughout the day in response to viewing angles, the movement of sunlight and artificial lighting in the evening and night. Liberty Plaza will be one of the first LEED accredited developments in Mexico and the project will achieve such a level of sustainability by incorporating efficient systems of energy and water consumption, managing site and materials, and enhancing user comfort in an environmentally conscious manner.