Reserva Santa Fe is a residential community west of Mexico City, and is a 15 minute drive from Santa Fe, one of Mexico’s top commercial and business centers. The project is located within a private reserve, in a forested mountain range that divides the valleys of Mexico City and Tolucas. Of the community’s 663 acres, 458 are destined exclusively for conservation, allowing residents a true opportunity to live in harmony with nature.
Complex social and environmental challenges inherent to one of the most populated cities in the world compelled the Reserva Santa Fe team to envision a paradigm shift in inhabitants’ relationship to the environment and the way in which they live and interact with the community. Federal and local governments have not been able to halt urban sprawl from invading protected natural reserves and National Parks adjacent to Reserva Santa Fe, thus the team embarked on a journey to create a truly sustainable and regenerative community hoping to provide a rooted solution to stop uncontrolled urban growth.
The project’s location is rich in history and culture and has an extensive biodiversity of endemic plants and wildlife, creating an extraordinary ecosystem. The architecture within the community uses local materials that will integrate into the site’s landscape, and will also bring health, wellness, culture and sustainability into the daily lives of community members. It is anticipated that the residents of and visitors to Reserva Santa Fe will become agents of change toward a more conscientious Mexico as they discover themselves in contact with nature. The project’s motto “Find your own nature” invites the community to dig deep into themselves while surrounded by a fir forest and to reflect on their impact on nature and society.