Puerto Vallarta Project in Mexico approaching its completion

A joint venture of West 8, Trama Arquitectos and Estudio 3.14 design an urban renewal project for Vallarta’s iconic waterfront, locally known as the Malecón. This project has been carried out through the summer of 2011. By Thanksgiving, the work will reach its completion. This will mark a Renaissance for Vallarta’s historic district in a matter of just 5 months.

The initiator of this waterfront project is the mayor Salvador Gonzatez Reséndiz. He committed to an urban transformation with a rather inventive approach. The Town of Vallarta now holds an progressive and large-scale visionary strategic plan for the next twenty years, with a series of tourist destinations including the Malecón as the soul of the Historic District.

The West 8 design aims to project the Puerto Vallarta atmosphere, Mexico’s only beach destination set in a traditional village, into a new paradigm without losing its identity. It is conceived for the locals and tourists to mingle harmoniously with the romantic sunsets over the Pacific Ocean. 

The public space scheme of the Malecon, uses a series of strategies to reintroduce the public realm to a human scale. The design provides comfortable shade in pedestrian areas accommodating inspiring view-lines to the ocean for visitors and residents. Innovative lighting has also been introduced to enhance the romantic moonlit effect.

The main feature of this unique place is the Mosaic paving, using the traditional local pebble-stone pavement technique. A native myth of creation, as narrated through drawings by the Jalisco born artist Fidencio Benitez, gave birth to the composition of the new mosaics pattern. The pattern is crafted under supervision of a professional prominent craftsman Amador Gomez Piña.

The scale and challenge of the mosaics paving enhances the identity of local ethnicity and handcraftsmanship, two of the major attractions of Mexico, positioning Puerto Vallarta for a new era. These custom designs transform Malecón into a contemporary, vibrant and pedestrian-friendly public space.