ECO VIDAL DESIGN
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SAN MIGUEL DE ALLENDE SMASH WORKSHOP
Project name: SMASH Technical Assistant Workshop for Sustainable Planning
Location: San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico
Planning and Development: Federico Vidargas invited local planers and international sustainable experts including Eco Vidal Design, Inc.
Completion Date: 2008
Site area: Entire City limits
The project’s guiding idea was to explore whether transitions between municipal administrations in Mexico could overlap, given that administrative terms are very short (three years) and achievements often lose continuity—as the incoming administration typically discards everything that came before. We would call this strategic planning.
To a certain extent, there was a connection between the outgoing and incoming administrations, though not to the degree originally envisioned.
The outcome was largely shaped by circumstances: the incoming mayor, Lucy Núñez, recognized the initiative's importance and viewed our workshop as a recruitment opportunity to build a cohesive group of leaders. In fact, within two months of the SMASH program, she identified and recruited four individuals from the core group of experts—specializing in economics, planning, and project management—to become integral members of her cabinet, overseeing planning, public works, the economy, and urban development.
Resisting Overdevelopment: Through civic alignment and community advocates successfully legally challenged, delayed, and forced the redesign of massive condominium complexes to fit the historic escarpment.
Global vs. Local Equilibrium: SMASH championed the mindset that UNESCO status is a "world treasure to live up to," pushing municipal systems to integrate strict zoning laws with modern infrastructure. At SMASH EVD proposed a sustainable economic development plan based on eco tourism and historic preservation.
The SMASH Technical Assistance Workshop for Sustainable Planning in 2008 yielded several specific frameworks and outcomes. These outcomes were critical because they were established right as San Miguel de Allende received its official UNESCO World Heritage Site designation.
PRIMARY OUTCOMES
SMASH workshop focused on creating a blueprint for the town’s rapid expansion while protecting its historic integrity:
1. Prototype for Sustainable Housing Eco-Friendly Infill Design: The workshop produced a blueprint for a sustainable house prototype tailored specifically for San Miguel de Allende. Resource and Space Efficiency: This model focused on innovative, low-cost, and space-efficient building techniques. It proved that modern eco-housing could exist within the strict aesthetic confines of the historic district without disrupting the colonial architecture.
2. Concrete Carrying Capacity Frameworks Tourism Limits: The workshop established early methodologies to measure the city's tourism carrying capacity. This provided data-driven limits on how many visitors, hotel rooms, and vehicles the historic core could support before suffering permanent infrastructure and environmental degradation.Resource Preservation: It highlighted immediate threats to the local water supply and wastewater management systems. This laid the groundwork for future municipal rainwater catchment goals.
3. Legal and Zoning Weapons for Civic ActivismHeight and Density Restrictions: The technical data produced during the workshop gave civic coalitions (like the Basta Ya movement) the baseline environmental and architectural metrics needed to file successful legal injunctions against over-scaled condominium developments.Curbing "Modernization" of the Escarpment: It formalized guidelines to prevent massive, modern real estate projects from altering the natural hillsides and ridges surrounding the historic center.
4. Translocal Technical Exchange Global Best Practices: The workshop successfully bridged local Mexican planners with international sustainability experts. This methodology was so effective it was later used as a reference model for similar international heritage workshops, such as the Paranapiacaba Technical Assistance Workshop in Santo André, Brazil lead by EVD president Carmen Vidal-Hallett.
Location: San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico
Client: San Miguel de Allende Municipality
Planning and Development: Local Planners and International sustainability professionals including EVD
Completion Date: 2008
Site area: N/A
Reference:
Federico Vidargas
Architect and Urban Planner
+1(312) 259-758031