Commissioned by the Municipality of Monterrey in the late 1990s, the Colegio Civil Master Plan aimed to revitalize the historic city center and reconnect the Macroplaza with Alameda Park.
In the late 1990s, the Municipality of Monterrey and the local planning board commissioned Asymptote Architecture to design a new master plan for the Colegio Civil District — a largely commercial area in the heart of the city between the Macroplaza and Alameda Park. The study was part of a larger urban effort to revitalize Monterrey’s historic center and improve connections between the city’s major public landmarks.
The Colegio Civil itself is a landmark with over two centuries of history. Originally a 19th-century educational institution, it now serves as the Centro Cultural Universitario for the Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León (UANL). By the 1990s the surrounding district had seen a significant decline in residential population and investment, and Asymptote’s masterplan aimed to leverage this historic anchor to regenerate the urban fabric.
Urban Connectivity
The primary goal was to create a significant urban link between Alameda Park and the Macroplaza, with the design extending these connections into a larger network reaching the Santa Lucia Canal and Fundidora Park. Asymptote’s strategy was to create a cohesive whole where all constituent parts — commercial, cultural, residential — contribute to the regeneration of the district.
Green Network
New green spaces provide an attractive linkage system through the district while defining specific edges between sub-areas. Each public space has a different character, lending identity to its immediate vicinity and providing vital urban amenity associated with new programs — markets, cultural zones, residential and mixed-use areas. This network of open and green nodes works at multiple scales, linking major adjacent areas while providing leisure spaces for residents, workers, and visitors.
Tower District
Three new towers bridge the gap between the institutional and governmental buildings of the Macroplaza. Designed primarily for office functions, they include ground-level space for commercial, recreational, and cultural programs. A new open space surrounding the towers links them directly to the existing green spaces of the Macroplaza and the Colegio Civil’s own network.
