Over the summer of 2026, the Instituto Superior de Arquitectura y Diseño (ISAD) hosted its latest new edition of the Taller del Desierto (Desert Workshop), an intensive academic exercise that for over a decade has brought together students from various design disciplines to develop and build 1:1 scale interventions in the urban context of Chihuahua. Four weeks of research, prototyping and real manufacturing, where error and interdisciplinary collaboration are as much part of learning as the final result.
For the 2026 edition, the Plaza de Armas at the intersection of Independencia Avenue and Victoria Street was selected. The site, once dominated by vehicular traffic and now integrated into the downtown pedestrian network, draws large crowds daily but offered no shade. The workshop proposed to offer a rest and rest space to all those who walk through the site. The Paso Nara pavilion was envisioned not as a decorative object, but as a gesture that invites you to stop, talk or simply be with yourself.
The project was developed under the guidance of industrial designer Daniel Romero Valencia, recognized for his work in construction systems based on mechanical assemblies and self-supporting joints that dispense with conventional fixing elements. Under his advice, students explored a hybrid process between hand drawing and digital modeling, taking each piece of the pavilion to three-axis CNC fabrication.
Paso Nara emerged as a temporary intervention that introduces a pause into this daily movement. Its presence is recognizable from a distance as a distinct object marking a new point of reference in the open square. Upon approaching, the shadow cast on the pavement invites visitors inside. Once within, the structure frames different views of the city, while an opening at the top directs the gaze toward the sky, turning an everyday pause into an experience of contemplation.
The pavilion’s conical geometry is inspired by the traditional Rarámuri skirts, reinterpreted to reduce the opening towards the sky and expand the shade and meeting area at its base. Its name, Paso Nara, synthesizes three ideas: the passage or daily transit through the city, the nature of the material that constitutes it and the cultural root that inspires its form.
Paso Nara was sited at the Plaza de Armas of Chihuahua from July 25 – August 8, 2026, following which the pavilion was taken to Mexico City to be a part of the iconic Alameda Central, inside Mextrópoli 2026, the most important Festival of Architecture and City in Latin America, which will be held from September 17 to 20.
