CCD will be located in Guadalajara, the country’s second largest city and the home to Mexico’s “Silicon Valley.” CCD aims to attract Mexican and international creative minds to develop new digital media content. It will advance Mexico’s natural position as a global creative leader while pushing the boundaries of sustainable urban development. In short, a new model to be replicated across the country and Latin America.
CCD draws on the strengths of the site – its talent, historical fabric and connections – and enhances them to achieve a new social and environmental sustainability. The Hospicio Cabañas, as well as many courtyard buildings in the center of Guadalajara, are superbly adapted to the local climate. Not only wonderful places to be, these structures are also extremely flexible and have accommodated many uses over time. They are the organizing principle of CCD, integrating living, working and leisure in a human-scaled urban environment that can be changed, added to and adapted over time. In many cases, the courtyards are open to the public, providing more intimate spaces for outdoor dining, art shows, performances or work. In other cases they serve more private functions for businesses or local residents. Not limited to the ground, these courts could be created on upper levels as well, providing spaces for social gatherings or collaborative work, bars and other activities, all overlooking the street and courtyards below. As a result, a new kind of three-dimensional, “permeable” realm, blending public and private, will emerge.