ORU - Oficina de Resiliencia Urbana

Adriana Chávez, Victor Rico, and Elena Tudela founded ORU – Oficina de Resiliencia Urbana in Mexico City in 2018. Working across the academic, public, and private sectors, the practice advocates for “scaled-up architectural thinking to foster new futures of interconnected urban regions, strengthened ecological structures, and resilient human and non-human communities,” in its own words. With a profound sensitivity to each project’s environmental and social context, ORU produces a broad spectrum of work, from regional analyses and strategic plans to landscapes, buildings, and exhibitions.

Projects include:

• Shade Garden / Water Garden, two recreational facilities for low-income neighborhoods in Baja California Sur that can be used as shelters during natural disasters. Developed with SEDATU (Mexican Secretariat for Agrarian, Land, and Urban Development), Julián Arroyo Cetto, Gabriel Azuara Pellicer, and Virens Paisaje.
• Tacubaya Hydric District, a proposed medium-scale approach to Mexico City’s water crisis that prioritizes water reuse and retention while enhancing livability and biodiversity. Developed with Anita Berrizbeitia and Mónica Arzoz.
• Three Strategic Projects for Bogotá’s Metropolitan Region, a feasibility study of three proposed projects: a series of metropolitan parks, a network of bicycle paths, and an ecological agropark. Developed with TALLER Architects.

ORU won a 2021 World Landscape Architecture Award and was shortlisted for the 2022 Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize. The practice has participated in the Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism and the Venice Biennale of Architecture. 

Adriana Chávez holds a BArch from Ibero-American University (IBERO), a diploma in sustainable architecture from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, and an MArch and master’s in design studies from Harvard University GSD. She is an adjunct assistant professor at both Columbia University GSAPP and Syracuse University.

Victor Rico holds a BArch from Anahuac University, a diploma in public space and safer cities from IBERO, and a master’s of architecture in urban design from Harvard University GSD. He has taught at Anahuac University and the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).

Elena Tudela holds a BArch from UNAM and a master’s of architecture in urban design from Harvard University GSD. She is an associate professor at UNAM.

More information

• Tacubaya – Medium Scale Hydric District, World Landscape Architect
• BROADCAST: Oficina de Resiliencia Urbana, Lecture at Columbia University GSAPP
• Victor Rico // ORU – Oficina de Resiliencia Urbana, Archivo de Ideas Recibidas