Pacifico Campestre

Geological Formation

Baja California was created over 2 million years ago, creating new terrains and climate. The split on the mainland created a gulf that enclosed Baja California between two bodies of water, one to the east, the Gulf, and one to the west, which is the Pacific Ocean. At the same time, uplifting mountains from the north of Baja California to the South split the land into two climates. The new climates that were created were due to being near the sea and ocean this included the Mediterranean and arid climates, which has allowed Baja California to thrive in the coasts’ fresh cool climates, while the center mountains act as a geothermal powerhouse that creates hot springs with low land vegetation throughout the desert portions of Baja California. During the hot summer time, it is when hurricane season occurs, helping the soil in the location to be rich in nutrients. These nutrients have created a nourishing and blossoming valley that has predominantly helped vineyards grow as well as other fruits. - Kumar, Arun (2013)

The Californias

 The Californias was a word coined that included the upper & lower portions of California, which now a day is California and Baja California. With these territories under the control of Mexico, it became quite a challenge to govern these lands. The first efforts to manage this massive territory in the 1820s failed. Much of what the upper portion of California needed was not the same as those in Baja California. The Federal Government took steps to establish a centralized government in BC in the early 1850s to work on the issues and concerns of this portion of the Californias. However, upper California residents revolted against Mexico's government to get their independence, drastically changing Mexico's territorial landscape.

This change allowed Mexico to focus on Baja California to have a stable government to cater to the habitants of this territory. During the 20th century, the governors who helped push BC forward did not do as much as those in the 70s. No decade was better for Baja California than the 70s, in which the governor of Baja California, Hugo Cervantes del Río, prioritized agriculture and the poise of its beautiful lands and reclaimed them to reestablish their natural beauty. Not just that, but also this period in time is when Baja California many territories came under one government, the construction of the international airport, and a binational river ferry to cross between USA and Mexico.

After this decade, BC started to cultivate what made their state beautiful: their lands, the culture, and its weather. Baja California is garnished with cities that are lavish in beauty, such as Los Cabos, La Paz, Valle de Guadalupe, Ensenada, and many others. All in which their natural lands are part of cohabiting this territory. - Inafed, 2022

What Didn’t Pan Out

During the early 2000s, before the housing collapse, condos around Tijuana and Rosarito were booming, and towers were going up and dictating the urban context of these coastal areas. As soon as the housing collapse happened, the investors of these condo towers left, leaving towers half-built or looking like ruins in these dead spaces that now make up the coastline view of what we’re supposed to be high appealing tourist locations.

Steel frames with cranes on the roof of the Oceanfront Elegancia high-rise project can be seen on Monday, February 23, 2009 in the coastal corridor of Rosarito, Mexico. - The San Diego Union Tribute

Project Proposal

The project is a 7 phase proposal that works on designing around the natural terrain, climate, and urban context. Mainly it looks at the natural valley it is set on, which is based on the terrain’s flow of water. The valley naturally gives it the arrangement of the design. It also is being designed based on the axis of the sun, astral, and connection to the terrain, specifically the Coronado Islands to the west of Real Del Mar. This is also a direct commentary on the high rises being built as it is meant to be the opposite of the towers being developed, more grounded, and create a community for the people and restoration of the land. This creates an ecosystem at its core endowed with the land's growth and prosperity, bing sustainability, integrity to the terrain, and material sourced by local vendors creating a paradise.

Terrain & Parcel Maps

Site Plan Proposal

Overlay Sketches

Phase 1: Farm House Nursery

The first phase is meant to be the first step towards a garden paradise, in which the design will be farm houses acting as nursery to localize the maintained and growth of trees, shrubs, and flowers around the site.

Phase 2 Iterations

Phase 3 Iterations

Phase 4 Iterations

Phase 5 Iterations

Phase 6 Iterations

Phase 7 Iterations

Massing Studies