Revitaliza Consultores

Transcript

K: Could you start by telling us your name and what you do here?

A: My name is Alicia Silva, and I am the CEO and founder of Revitaliza Consultores, which is a sustainability consulting firm.

J: Could you give us an idea of what Revitaliza does?

A: Revite-a-liza – it’s easier for you! Revite-a-liza – Revitalize. Basically, it’s an environmental consulting firm. We have been working for the last 10 years on helping all the projects that we work for increase the sustainability aspect of what they do. Basically, we do LEED certification, so we bring them to international standards. I mean, you really have to understand that LEED is an American certification, but it also helps worldwide in terms of raising the standards for how people build everywhere in the world, and it’s very applicable to Mexico. We’ve been very fortunate to be able to bring all the projects that we’ve worked on, around 70 at this time, to a very high standard in terms of the sustainability that they have. So, it’s been very, very interesting to see. When we get together with the architects, the contractors, the engineers, and just raising the standards to international standards. Demonstrating that we have not only the technology but the human capability to bring those projects to a higher standard has been very, very inspirational.

K: That was such an inspirational elevator pitch. How do you, as a resident of Mexico City, think of the Antiguo Palacio del Ayuntamiento?

A: So, I think all these historic buildings are very iconic and they represent a lot of who we are and part of our history. We did learn so much because most of the buildings are very modern, all-glass buildings. We have a lot of challenges, especially in Mexico City, because we have amazing weather. You have to insulate the building, and basically neglect the weather outside and create your own weather. When we started working for the Palacio del Ayuntamiento, we for the first time – I mean, I studied architecture, I’m an architect by training, but you don’t acknowledge the virtue of the historic buildings. When we started working with this building, everything worked! We did a lot of enhancements in terms of the process, how they turn on and off for the equipment for air conditioning one of the big lobbies they have for reception for the King and Queen and Denmark or something – but in general, we were overviewing, and basically what we had to do in order to upgrade the building to international standards was really teaching the user how to use the building, how to use the colonial architecture. The design, the window/wall ratio was perfect, the environment, the quality of light, everything – it was in fact the things that we added on to this building that was really disrupting the works of the architecture. It was shocking for us, because we are used to, say, “Oh, we have so much exposure to the sun in this site, we have so much trouble with temperature ranges in this other site.” This building worked so beautifully because it’s 16th-century architecture. It was designed right. It was designed for the weather, it was designed for the uses and the spaces, the air patios, the high ceilings. We basically had to learn that in order for you not to be hot, you put high ceilings, and the hot air goes up, and you don’t need air conditioning. A lot of people felt they would need air conditioning, so they lowered the ceilings and put an HVAC unit – and it’s like – what??

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Basically, what we had to do, and what was very important for us to learn, was just experiencing the building and really realizing, “Oh my god, they really thought these things through.” Of course, the technical part of how the building is built, the wall thicknesses are 1 meter thick, so of course, the insulation is perfect. The window/wall ratio. The way they did the frames for the windows. The insulation just requires maintenance. We have other projects that have more technology, but this one was just basically learning how they used to design in terms of historic design. Colonial design. Why was this important? It was very respectful. We learned a lot in terms of what design is, and what things we’ve been forgetting.

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In regards to your question of what this represents, this represents a history for everybody – not just for the Mexican people, but for all the architects in the world. How things were designed according to the weather, the situation, the context, everything. Those things we shouldn’t forget. We now work with the best architects in the world, we’ve worked with Richard Meier… even Zaha Hadid, we have worked with some of her projects. Sometimes they forget these things. Historic buildings remind us of our past, and the simplicity of really paying attention to all these details, really blending in without the need of technology. It’s more simplicity in the sense that it works by itself. You don’t have to add more things. Of course, LEED recognizes that when you have historic buildings you shouldn’t put air conditioning ducts, but of course, we are changing and evolving. Pollution didn’t use to be an issue and now it is, and now we have to address those things. Historic buildings have a very huge lesson for every architect in the world and every person that wants to understand about space and about interiors and about how everything works. It represents more than just for Mexicans, it’s really a great lesson to learn for everybody in terms of how these buildings work, and why are they so efficient.

K: Thank you, that actually leads really well into another question. How did you approach this project? So, are specific techniques that you were aiming for? Or, was it more dictated by the building’s architecture?

A: Well, we basically do a feasibility analysis in terms of how everything’s working and how far we are from the standards – from the international standards. When you are applying sustainability to old buildings, you have the mistake or the misconception that they started with nothing, which was our big surprise. I mean, they had more than most of the buildings that we work with. We did a feasibility analysis and started to understand that this one really had a lot going for it. It was super energy-efficient, which was the “wow, what is going on here?” Basically, we didn’t really have to do anything – it really took us a while to do research into, what are the things we can upgrade? It was so well done, the engineering was so basic. But, even the basic things, you can improve. For example, some equipment was working 24/7 all year long and it was like, no, you have to do some scheduling and turn it on when you use it, because the rest of the time it’s not necessary. It was basic, very basic. We understood that the design also creates, of course, the environment for people to live. It creates certain behaviors. That was another lesson that we learned. For example, its very long stairs are beautiful, and because they were central to the space, people actually use the stairs! They had to put an elevator because of disability and it’s a public building, but most of the time in buildings with this height, people just use the elevators. The design of the building was so beautiful for the stairs that it was almost inviting you, you really want to use the space. We started learning a lot of the things that, you know, if you can just make stairs more inviting… Most of the buildings that we work on are these huge towers, the [stairs] are hidden, they’re tiny, they lock themselves. I try to use the stairs most of the time and they lock on me, and I’m stranded in the middle of the stairways! These [historic] buildings were meant to be used. It creates a synergy between the inhabitants of the building and how the building should be used. You really want to walk around the corridors, you really want to use the stairs, you want to get out on the patios. Sometimes, you want to even go upstairs because the patios and the shading is kind of cold, so in your brain you want to go up. People told us that that’s how they used the building – if it’s very cold, they go up, and if it’s very warm they go down. You always have places to go. They started using their terraces -- there were already some terraces, the corner ones with the arches – but they realized that there was more to the building that they were actually using. I think, when you start honoring the buildings and you start honoring what they’re doing, you just have a different kind of community. My mom used to work in these historic buildings in downtown and I just remember going to these super-high ceilings, these beautiful stairs, and things like that. This is something that impacts you.

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Your office is the place where you spend most of your time. We learn a lot as designers, we learn a lot about how the building is working, we learn a lot about what the behavior is that the building wants you to have in terms of thermal comfort, etc. Also, the challenges when it’s a historic building – you cannot put whatever you want, you cannot change the floor because you don’t like it – you have to do a lot of things more respectfully. You really want to preserve things. However, there are things that are, in terms of design, also based on our paradigms. These buildings, because they have so many years, have gone through several remodelings. At some point, because of the hierarchy and the way we think – and this is where I’d like to connect architecture and paradigm-shifting. In the beginning, all of the bosses have their beautiful offices next to the window and everybody was in electric light and not using the space. These changing paradigms of the open office, everybody getting the window sun, the patio sun, changing this way of who’s the boss, who’s not the boss. Really changing the dynamic of how we see people in this space. I think, these kinds of buildings are more inviting to everybody enjoying the space than just trying to have separate offices with walls. It puts a lot of pressure if you want to go that route. If you put an office in a window, you shut out the light for everybody. If you do the opposite, in terms of design, it opens that window and the light goes to everybody. That’s why I’m trying to say that the context of how these buildings are made really has to be explained. Okay, we want to make use of natural light – then, we have to get rid of these walls, because the natural lighting affects everybody, even the mood of the people. There are so many things that affect people in general, and natural lighting, thermal comfort, even the water savings was just mind-blowing. They realized that they started wasting more water when we did the upgrading of all the toilets and faucets because now they were actually measuring it. Before, there wasn’t really any measure. When we changed it, they started measuring it, “Oh my god, we’re spending more water than we thought that we were.” So, we had so many lessons there. Technology, energy efficiency, water savings, thermal comfort, natural lighting, all of these things were completely different from a modern building. You come up with a lot of preconceptions of how things are in general, and here, it was the opposite.

K: Can you tell us, more specifically, if there were any unique challenges that you came across? Can you give us a specific unique challenge that you weren’t expecting?

A: Yes, one of the main challenges that we had is that because we’re in the middle of the Zocalo in Mexico City, and everything is built on top of pyramids, there was no way to store water. So, water efficiency is a big thing and if you know a little bit of the history of Mexico, it used to be a lake. The downtown of Mexico City had been flooded – one time it was ten years they were flooded, like Venice right now with almost two feet of water, like that for ten years. There’s a lot of challenges – you cannot dig. That has been a big challenge. Not only that building but the other ones we were working with. There was no way you could store water. In water processes, it was very challenging because most of the buildings that are all over Mexico, water is a huge issue, especially the north part of Mexico where you have less water. We couldn’t do a lot of the things to enhance the water. We upgraded the faucets and toilets, and urinals and whatnot, but we couldn’t put a water treatment plant, which always makes sense in Mexico because water is such a big thing here. We already have a Day Zero. We’re falling after Johannesburg. Water is always a main concern and we couldn’t do anything but a few things. That was a challenge because you cannot dig in the patio because it’s a colonial patio! You cannot put a water treatment plant because it’s a historic building. Even though we have worked with a lot of restorations and you just take it and put it back, but here, if you dig a little, you’ll find another pyramid, and that’s a huge thing! Literally, there’s culture on top of culture, so that was one of our big challenges. We couldn’t do anything in terms of water.

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The other challenge was more like dealing with the institution in general. For example, we wanted to upgrade the supplies for cleaning, or supplies for curtains, or even the chairs, because there’s so many permits, people that have to make decisions, it was just harder. It’s just harder, in general, to work with the government. Because everybody gets the same [supplies] they buy huge amounts of things. It was just so hard. If it was another kind of institution, you could say just change your cleaning product and they say okay. This one was just a whole chain of command that you just have to follow. That was very hard. Also, they have to, because they’re historic buildings, they have to always ask IMBA, INA, everybody has a say. So, all the processes are very slow. For example, for LEED you have to change the painting, the glues, everything. Everything had to be passed through somebody that would have to approve it, and then they didn’t understand… Painting was easy because the historic paintings were made from clay, those were already part of the equation and they align very well with LEED. There’s a lot of things that makes sense, but a lot that didn’t. So, we really had to adjust. But, I think the biggest challenge was the water. It’s something that we always do and we just couldn’t, and it’s shocking.

K: We were just talking about that, looking at the ruins, how does this work with so many layers?

A: So many layers! Even within themselves, this is this time frame, this is another time frame, this is another… just to dig a little bit! I mean, we were building our offices here in Coyoacan, and we were very concerned that we would find a pyramid. Dig, but just, you know, carefully!

K: Can you tell us, what is the main experience that you hope for people to have of this building and this sustainable upgrade that you guys have put so much work into?

A: I think, the most important thing for people to recognize is that there is so many things to learn from these historic buildings. We have to respect them, and we also have to learn how they work. They work simpler. Sometimes, we in the sustainability world say that we have compensated a lot for the bad design and bad architecture. It’s very hard for us, because we are so used to bad design and bad architecture that doesn’t respect the environment, to go back to this building and acknowledge, “Oh, this was very good design, and very well built.” So, I think everybody should acknowledge that good buildings, good design, understanding the context and understanding the culture is very important. Any building that is historic like this one, and that is preserving a testament of time and how things are, is just a great teacher for us people who love architecture.  

K + J: Thank you so much!