Juan Carral: Rethinking Suburban Housing

The Mexican architect offers new ideas about real-estate development in underrepresented areas, promoting inclusivity and community participation

Caught between a zone of significant vehicular traffic and an area with the highest purchasing power in Cancun, the working-class community in the Mexican neighborhood of Donceles has been largely forgotten by the larger city to which it ostensibly belongs. With this in mind, Mexican architect Juan Carral (born 1976) conceived of Donceles Studios as a multipurpose building representative of the neighborhood’s diverse social strata. In this text, Carral further explores the infrastructure of Donceles, noting its rich urban layout and its self-made architectural identity as well as its privileged location and more accessible cost of living. The result is a compelling argument for a new form of experimental real estate development based on participatory strategies and an inclusive ideology. Carral urges his fellow architects to approach real estate development with a wider lens, keeping in mind a long-term vision of the city we want to have.