Central University City Campus of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM)

Official name: Central University City Campus of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM)

Location: Mexico

Type: Cultural

Year of inscription: 2008

Central University City Campus of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Mexico. The site is made up of UNAM buildings, structures, and facilities, which were constructed in the early 1950s. The campus remained mostly unchanged between its construction and the site’s 2008 inscription, with the university continuing to use the buildings as the designers originally intended. The site is in in the southern part of Mexico City in the area called “El Pedregal.” It has become and iconic part of the city’s landscape.

The UNAM campus is an important cultural site in part because it of its use of modern architecture and urban design. Before construction began, two main architects on the projects created a Master Plan, which the other nearly sixty designers and architects used as a guide to construct all the individual elements of the campus. This type of plan allowed many different people to work on the project while still ensuring the cohesive design. The UNAM campus is also culturally important because it used architectural concepts that originated in Mexico. One these was integración plástica, which is the inclusion of murals and sculpture in architecture. This concept was especially popular in the years after World War II, at which time the campus was designed and constructed. Some of the most visually dramatic elements of the site are the parts of the campus that incorporate art and sculpture. For example, the library is one of the best-known buildings on campus because of the dramatic designs—which are reminiscent of pre-Hispanic art—on its exterior.

The campus’s designers chose to construct much of the campus on rocky platforms that had been created by lava from the volcano Xitle. The volcano was volatile for thousands of years, with the last eruption happening in roughly 70 BCE. Although the landscape around the campus is rocky, it also has ferns, flowers, and other plants that have become symbols of the area.

The campus, which is 436 acres (176.5 hectares), was designed to be as useful as possible for the people who use it. It was designed to help keep vehicle traffic away from the main part of the campus, so people using the campus could walk safely. Open spaces are also important to the design of the campus, with many buildings being designed around or near spaces such as esplanades, plazas, and sports fields. The designers constructed the campus to have main sections. The first is the Olympic stadium, whose design many architects have studied because the stadium fits well into its natural surroundings. The second main section is known as the School Zone, which includes the iconic library and numerous other buildings. The third main section of the campus is made up of other sports fields, including the Olympic Pool and the Handball Courts.

History

The Mexico National Autonomous University (UNAM) has been part of Mexico City in some form for hundreds of years. In 1551, King Philip II of Spain formed the Mexico Royal University by issuing a royal certificate order. It was the first university created in the Americas. The Mexico Royal and Pontifical University, as the university became known, became an important part of Mexico City. At first the university was housed behind the Metropolitan Cathedral, but it was later moved to the Royal Palace.

By the 1800s, the university operated through numerous different buildings located throughout Mexico City. However, Mexico—which had experienced its War of Independence in the early 1800s—was struggling financially. The university opened and closed a number of times for decades after the end of the war. In 1865, Maximilian I, who was the country’s leader at the time, closed it indefinitely.

In 1910, Mexico’s public education minister Justo Sierra reopened the university, calling it National University. Officials at the school began considering designing and building a new campus for the university as early as the 1920s. In 1942 or 1943, school officials decided that they would build a new campus on the volcanic layer zone named “Pedregal de San Ángel” around Mexico City. This area was chosen because it was close to the city’s center while still giving the planners a unique area on which to build. The state government passed a law in 1945 allowing for the construction of the campus.

In 1947, school officials formed a commission to begin planning the project. The project proceeded slowly, but the work began with creation of a Master Plan, which was a guide by which all the architects, designers, and artists involved in the process would follow. Architects Enrique del Moral and Mario Pani headed the General Master Plan Office, and they developed the rules that the other professionals follow. The plan indicated that designers should consider the university’s relationship to Mexico City when they made their designs. It also said that designers should prioritize the use of open spaces, such as plazas, in their designs. Another important rule from the plan said that the design should include secondary elements, such as fountains, overpasses, and stores. Their vision helped make the different parts of the campus feel cohesive, even though nearly sixty other professionals also worked on planning and executing the individual buildings, structures, and facilities.

On June 5, 1950, the foundation stone of the entire campus was laid, in the location that would become the Scientific Research Institutes Tower. The main part of the project was finished in less than three years, ending on November 20, 1952, with a dedication ceremony. Parts of the university continued to officially open in 1953 and 1954 as well.

The various buildings and structures of the campus became dramatic parts of Mexico City’s landscape. The buildings’ artist elements were especially beautiful and noteworthy. While the campus became a popular destination, it also remained a working university, with students attending each year and using the campus’s various buildings and structures for decades.

By the late twentieth century, many school officials and other Mexicans believed that the campus was a cultural landmark that should be preserved. The school created various offices and established efforts to help preserve the buildings in their original condition. For example, the school created the Governing Plan for University City in 1993 to determine rules for the university’s growth and development so that future development would not harm the original buildings’ integrity. Officials also realized that local government could most likely help preserve the campus, and in 1997 the government of Mexico City named the campus a heritage conservation zone. In 2005, the Mexican federal government named the site a National Artistic Monument. Later that year, the government submitted a nomination for the site to be included in the list of the World Heritage Sites. UNESCO added the site to the list in 2008.

Significance

Sites under consideration to become World Heritage Sites have to prove their “universal value” by meeting at least one of ten criteria UNESCO has for the sites. The criteria list reasons that the site would be culturally or naturally important. Central University City Campus of (UNAM) is listed as a cultural site of importance because it is an example of human development and architecture.

The Central University City Campus of (UNAM) meets three of the ten UNESCO criteria. The first is criterion I, which states that a site “represent[s] a masterpiece of human creative genius.” The site meets this criterion because it was designed by a team of sixty professionals who used a plan and a framework to ensure the campus’s design was useful, beautiful, and culturally valuable.

The site also meets criterion II, which states a site “exhibit[s] an important interchange of human values, over a span of time or within a cultural area of the world, on developments in architecture or technology, monumental arts, town-planning or landscape design.” Central University City Campus of (UNAM) fulfills this requirement because the site has designs that incorporate various important architecture concepts from the twentieth century. They also include architectural concepts that originated in Mexico.

The third criterion the site meets is criterion IV. This criterion states that a site is “an outstanding example of a type of building, architectural or technological ensemble or landscape which illustrates (a) significant stage(s) in human history.” The site fulfills this criterion because it fully implements the ideas of modern architecture and urbanism.

The Central University City Campus also meets UNESCO’s conditions for integrity and authenticity. All the buildings that were included in the original site still remain part of the campus, so all the parts are authentic and intact. Furthermore, the structures included in the original plan are still being used for the same or similar purposes. The intact site helps visitors understand the campus’s cultural and historic importance.

Bibliography

“Central University City Campus of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM).” UNESCO World Heritage Convention, 2022, whc.unesco.org/en/list/1250/. Accessed 27 July 2022.

“Central University City Campus of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM): Nomination.” UNESCO World Heritage Convention, whc.unesco.org/uploads/nominations/1250.pdf. Accessed 27 July 2022.

“Decision 31 COM 8B.52.” UNESCO World Heritage Convention, 2007, whc.unesco.org/en/decisions/1354/. Accessed 28 July 2022.

“Twenty-Two New Sites Inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, and One Deleted During Committee Meeting in Christchurch.” UNESCO, 29 June 2007, whc.unesco.org/en/news/365. Accessed 27 July 2022.

“UNESCO Adds Three New Sites to World Heritage List.” United Nations, 2007, news.un.org/en/story/2007/06/224082-unesco-adds-three-new-sites-world-heritage-list. Accessed 27 July 2022.

“Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM).” U.S. News & World Report, 2022, travel.usnews.com/Mexico‗City‗Mexico/Things‗To‗Do/Central‗University‗City‗Campus‗61157/. Accessed 27 July 2022.

“Universities World Heritage.” UMAC, umac.icom.museum/resources/universities-world-heritage/. Accessed 27 July 2022.