Header: Rafael Gamo
The new public centre of Naco, Mexico, designed by Fernanda Canales, has just welcomed a market, an outdoor forum, and a lookout tower into a town that was previously overtaken by vehicles. Commissioned by the Secretaría de Desarrollo Agrario, Territorial y Urbano and built in 2023 with ICCARSON Desarrollos as contractors and NSA Lighting responsible for illumination, this is a place where residents can gather, shop, and safely take part in community life.
The intervention takes place on what had been the town’s main highway, a strip of asphalt that cut directly through the centre of the town and stopped the public from enjoying their surroundings. By reducing the space for cars, widening sidewalks and creating new pedestrian crossings, the project slows the pace of traffic and makes room for people to walk, meet and use the area as their own.
The market hall is what ties the whole project together, offering a sheltered but open structure that welcomes the public to go about their daily affairs and life. Beside it, a small outdoor forum provides a platform for performances or public gatherings, while the surrounding square extends the programme further by allowing informal encounters to take place.
Rising above this new centre, the lookout tower leads visitors to roof terraces and a platform that opens up views over the entire town. For a place largely made up of single-storey buildings, the chance to see Naco from above is a new experience only made better by the views of the Sierra de San José. The project was able, therefore, to accomplish much: not only did it succeed in regulating circulation, but it also created a shared urban island that finally gave Naco a recognisable centre.
