Water Project in Mexico City Wins GROHE Water Prize 2025

This year’s World Architecture Festival highlighted a research-driven initiative in Mexico City that addresses the pressing challenge of water scarcity in the city’s outskirts. The project, titled “Waterspaces,” proposes the creation of community-based water distribution points integrated into local sports and social areas. This turns architecture into a direct tool for confronting one of the city’s most urgent urban issues.

Community facility design addressing water scarcity in Mexico City’s outskirts — An architectural approach that integrates water distribution infrastructure into public spaces of Mexico City.

Although modest in scale occupying just 50 square meters the project has been conceived as a practical hub to ease daily struggles for residents. The design combines hidden infrastructure, including a 10,000-liter underground tank with a multi-stage filtration system. It also features an open communal space that encourages gatherings and local interaction. In this way, the facility goes beyond its technical function, transforming into a social and architectural meeting point. It redefines the relationship between people and water.

Urban space connecting community activities with clean water access — Waterspaces transforms a water point into an interactive hub for local gatherings

The system relies on solar energy to operate its filtration units and captures both rainwater and groundwater. With the capacity to deliver up to 230,000 liters of drinking water annually, the initiative provides a meaningful intervention in neighborhoods. These areas depend almost entirely on purchasing water.

Conceptual drawing showing the integration of water infrastructure with urban space — An early sketch illustrating the architectural link between built form and water systems

The jury described the project as an architectural reading of how water scarcity shapes daily life. They noted that the blend of simple technology with community-oriented design amplifies its impact. More than just a water source, the facility reimagines public space as a site of resilience and connection.

✦ ArchUp Editorial Insight

The article introduces “Waterspaces” as an architectural approach to address water scarcity in the outskirts of Mexico City. The visuals reveal a restrained composition of concrete volumes and open space, paired with hidden underground infrastructure. This interplay between visible form and invisible systems extends the design beyond aesthetics. Yet one question arises: can such localised strategies meaningfully confront broader urban transformations? While the project provides a pragmatic intervention, it leaves contextual integration somewhat unresolved. Nevertheless, its value lies in merging technology with communal space, framing sustainability not as abstraction but as a lived, spatial experience.

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