Revenge of the Lake: An Exploration of of Water, Sacrifice, and Regeneration in Mexico City

Abstract

Mexico City is sinking quickly, in parts up to nine inches a year and in total thirty feet since its foundation in 1325. Mexico City was built on the lake bed of Lake Texcoco. The original inhabitants of the city, the Méxica, worked with the water and worshiped the water god, Tlaloc, often through sacrifice. The city then fell to the Spaniards who in ignorance attempted to control the water and drained the lake, allowing for further expansion of the city. Mexico City continued to grow and drill wells that are overdrawing potable water from the aquifer; this is one of the main reasons the city is sinking. The city experiences seasonal flooding, which residents of Mexico City call, the "revenge of the lake." There are no measures in place to capture the rain or try and use it to help any of the city's problems with water. In order to end the cyclical nature of revenge, the city must sacrifice drawing water from their aquifer and look to alternative solutions for potable water. This design explores natural treatment of rain and waste water, recycling water, and storing treated water. Through a number of explorations, the design provides a precedent for how the city should re-examine its relationship with water: water as a source of value, not only as a resource.