This project challenged designers to develop two large city blocks in Guadalajara, Mexico into an orphanage for teenage boys.  The site selected had a significant relationship to the city, being adjacent to the governor's residence.  While orphanages are typically hidden away at the outskirts, this location offered a valuable opportunity to raise awareness and visibility of the pervasive issues of homelessness and street life that the city's youth are facing.  On the other hand, concerns for safety led to one local advisor's adamance that the property be encased by a five meter wall.  This particular design seeks to balance those matters by playing with various levels of permeability and engaging the city streets while remaining protected.

A direct gradient of public to private spaces follows the entry sequence so that the administrative building acts as a sentinel by the gate and the boys' dormitories are situated at the rear.  Moments of visibility are offered ranging from physical exchange to merely outward visibility to complete opacity based on programatic needs.  The opportunities for physical exchange built into the program include a street cafe and studios/workshops that open up to the main street, thereby offering the teens ways to share their talents and build entrepreneurial skills.

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Finally, the design and construction of the compound must prove inexpensive and energy efficient, adapting to the hot climate and future need for expansion or flexibility.  All the buildings on site, therefore, consist of an elevated roof plane offering stack ventilation and easy access for repairs.  This canopy is overtly expressed in the architecture and extends to provide exterior shading and moments of relief as well.  The dormitories in particular are a series of interlocking modules; the interstitial space creates semi-private gathering spaces and the replicable fabrication establishes numerous possibilities for expansion.