Macuil Tochtli

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Short description

Tequila distillery in Mexico is a passive building made with local materials, with housing for workers inside

Description

The architects Doepel strijkers designed an organic tequila distillery in Jalisco, Mexico, as a modern-day interpretation of the hacienda. The plan includes using waste from the production process to generate energy for the factory. One of the two halves of the building will be dedicated to a chapel, a library, artists’ studios, and housing for the workers and their families.

Material flows

  • Inputs

  • sun
    ->
    sun energy
  • rain
    ->
    water
  • agave harvesting
    ->
    agave heads
  • tequila production process
    ->
    waste from production process
  • well
    ->
    drinkwater
  • Outputs

  • electricity
    ->
    sun energy
  • pulp, carton
    ->
    rainwater, production process
  • tequila bottles, CO2 emissions
    ->
    agave heads
  • compost, animal food
    ->
    waste from production process

Qualitative Analysis

Description of the Process

The Hacienda, an institution intimately linked to Mexicos past takes a leap forward into the future. Under the Macuil-tochtli banner, this new interpretation of the typology is grounded in its cultural roots. Simple architectural programs receive the influence of foreign models and are transformed in the search of a new interpretation. The complex is conceived of as a trypthic, with the tequila distillery to the North, the Public space facing South and the garden that extends before it. Twin wings define the Macuil-tochtli Hacienda, both of equal importance, the production values of the North wing and the social ones of the public space operating at the South wing. The North-South axis lends itself perfectly to provide production spaces with the right amount of light and warmth necessary for all seasons. Within the compounds South wing the living quarters for nuns, the chapel, the offices, workshops, the museum and the conference and training rooms are grouped.
The construction makes use of local materials and building technology. It is designed as a passive building determined by the environment of the place and always in response to the prevailing climatic conditions.

Situation before

Jalisco State in Central Mexico, where haciendas are traditionally involved in the making of Mexicos national drink: tequila. The blue agave producing region is now on the list of protected sites by the UNESCO offers the terroir and also offers the best cultural breeding ground for an exceptional project.

History

The Macuil-tochtli Hacienda honours a space that was traditionally allocated for centuries for mezcal production.

 

Result of project

It reflects a perfect mix of elements, ancient yet new, a worship place and a working place, a wasteless building that incorporates itself seamlessly into the native fabric, the natural and the cultural matrix of that particular place in Mexico. 

Role of different stakeholders in the system during the realization and maintenance of the project

CLIENT: Victor M. Basurto; CO-ARCHITECT: DAF-DF, Mexico; GRAPHICS: Studio Minke Themans; SOCIAL COMPONENT: Space Intelligence Agency;
DESIGN: Duzan Doepel, Eline Strijkers with Kees Besterveld en Stefan van der Weele, Ferenc Károly.

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