On the 8th Venice Architectural Biennial in 2002 a transcendental urban and landscape project received a Special Mention: Next Mexico City. This proposal, coordinated by Alberto Kalach and Teodoro González de León, focused on recovering the lost waterscape of this megalopolis while reestablishing a balance between built and natural environment. After a continuous effort of more than 400 years aiming to desiccate a system of five lakes (which originally had 1100 km2 in surface) this radical project presented a strategy to reflood the old lakebeds, recover rivers and streams, restructure ecosystems, and give the city back the image of water while providing fresh ground for a contemporary megalopolis to flourish.
Apparently, the project was way too innovative to be understood by decision makers and traditional hydraulic engineers, two groups who had been in charge of controlling the rebel waters of the lake since the arrival of the Spanish. Nevertheless, the idea resonated in the minds of many other citizens, opening an important field of work where urban design, landscape, architecture and water can establish a fructiferous dialogue. This text tells the story of a project inspired in Next Mexico City, rethinking, tuning and scaling down its most relevant contributions in an attempt to change the urban and environmental future of this megalopolis.