Project Overview
As the vibrant capital of the Mexican state of Yucatán, Mérida is a city with significant cultural history. It’s also the largest city in southern Mexico, home to more than 1 million residents when the metropolitan area is included. And while Mérida has consistently been ranked as one of Mexico’s best cities to live in, comfort can be difficult to achieve due to the city’s climate. Although temperatures average approximately 80°F over the course of the year, during the summer months, readings can often exceed 95°F and be accompanied by high levels of humidity. These conditions make public green spaces essential for improving urban living. Enter Parque La Plancha, a 50-acre public space located on the site of Mérida’s former Central Railway Station that was designed to blend history, culture, and recreation. Precast concrete producer Predecón, in tandem with Muñoz Arquitectos and CM Ingenieria, brought this vision to life with the help of precast concrete.
An Urban Catalyst
Parque La Plancha earns its name from a large iron plate at the Central Railway Station that was historically used to repair train tracks. La Plancha, which translates to “iron” or “iron plate,” is the name that stuck for locals because the plate functioned as a key tool in maintaining the area’s rail infrastructure, which, during its heyday, was a signifier of the city’s modernity and connectivity.
Conceived as a public, accessible, inclusive, and environmentally responsible space, Parque La Plancha pays homage to Mérida’s history and simultaneously looks to the future, all while helping to mitigate the heat island effect caused by the city’s urbanization. The park offers a wide range of amenities for residents and visitors, including an outdoor gym, food and beverage vendors in restored train cars, playgrounds for children, picnic areas, a large artificial lake, and a 10,000-person-capacity amphitheater. Precast concrete played a significant role in making those amenities possible.
“Precast concrete was the material of choice for Parque La Plancha because of its ability to achieve both architectural expression and structural performance,” says Enrique Escalante, founder, CEO, and principal engineer at Predecón. “The project required curved and cantilevered elements, as well as precise geometries for the amphitheater roof and circular walkways.”
The amphitheater was developed as a central element of the new landscape at Parque La Plancha. It features a 56-ft curved, cantilevered roof built with precast concrete. High-strength prestressing cables were used to join the sections of precast concrete ribs that compose the roof into the bedrock beneath, anchoring them and creating a foundation capable of resisting the tension generated by the cantilever. According to Escalante, fabricating and installing the complex shapes was one of the main challenges of the project. Precast concrete enabled off-site fabrication and efficient installation, thereby overcoming difficulties that traditional cast-in-place concrete would have presented.
Parque La Plancha’s sinuous walkways are another signature component of the public space’s design and heavily feature precast concrete. The composition of the walkways arises from the complexity of the site’s shape. One pathway is linear, with a canopy supported by a modular column system and a design that adds dynamism to the walk. This linear pathway connects the site longitudinally, culminating in a second, circular path with a “winged” canopy supported on a central column. A third system of transversal pathways functions as a type of urban scar, healing the ancient railway “wound” that once divided the city center. All pathways serve as conduits for the park, creating experiences of light and shadow as well as providing ventilation and shelter from weather conditions.
Since the project’s completion in late 2023, it has become an urban catalyst for Mérida. “Parque La Plancha transforms a former railway yard into a vibrant public space for the community of Mérida,” Escalante says. “The amphitheater, walkways, and plazas built with precast concrete now provide safe, durable, and attractive areas for cultural events, recreation, and social gathering. This project has become a landmark that enhances quality of life and strengthens community identity.”
Mason Nichols is a Grand Rapids, Mich.-based writer and editor who has covered the precast concrete industry since 2013. |