A series of participatory exercises within a two-year period provided information to understand the past and present relationship that a neighborhood near Monterrey’s city center had with an abandoned elementary school, both the nostalgic undertones of having attended and its eventual state of abandonment. This information was used for a design that continued the community’s relationship with the premises, giving each stage of the building its place in history while paving the way for its evolution.
An outer shell made of steel mesh protects the original brick structure, leaving it untouched. This acknowledges all layers of the building’s past by protecting the ruin, but also making it visible. The segmentation of the spaces, the former classrooms, were also maintained.
