LOS MANANTIALES RESTUARANT MEXICO CITY

MEXICO CITY
ARCHITECT: FELIX CANDELA
LOCATION: XOCHIMILCO, MEXICO
BUILT IN: 1958
BUILDING TYPE: COMMERCIAL, RESTUARANT
CONSTRUCTION SYSTEM: THIN SHELL CONCRETE
CLIMATE: MEDITERRANEAN
CONTEXT: WATERSIDE
STYLE: MODERN

XOCHIMILCO
WEST SIDE ELEVATION
SOUTH AND NORTH SEC-
The roof is a circular array of four curved-edge
TIONS OF THE SITE hypar saddles that intersect at the center point,
resulting in an eight-sided groined vault.
A section through Los Manantiales shows the
parabolic arch along the groins and the inverted The plan is radially symmetric with a maximum
arch through the diameter of 139 feet. Groins spanning 106 feet
highpoint of each vault. between supports.

SITE LOCATION
Trimmed at the perimeter to
form a canted parabolic overhang, the shell
Narrow boards simultaneously rises up and out at each undulation.
were used as form-
work, following the CRACKS IN THE SHELL
straight-line gener-
ator that forms the Cracks due to“mud-cracks”
hypar surface. as shrinkage pulled the
Steel reinforcing
and a layer of outer surface
cement grout (to into tension.
In 1958, this project got completed. It sat at the create Over time, moisture and
edge of a wide waterway, surrounded by floating a smooth inner sur-
CONCEPT gardens , and could be reached directly by pollution
embarcaderos, long, colorful gondolas that still face) underlie con- deepened some of the
ferry passengers along the canals of Xochimilco. crete applied one
A building with features that might be involved with the bucket at a time by cracks, and today,
Today this setting somehow faded. The canals laborers. a number of drip stains can
gardens, as an object that floats from its structure, have sunk and the floating gardens have
resembling a flower lotus floating on the water, acheives disappeared. The enduring shell, however, has not be observed where cracks
this effect. lost its majesty. once broke
CONSTRUCTION OF THE SHELL
completely through the
shell, as
show by the patched leaks

Patched leaks and drip-stains

on the underside of the shell,
and their location in plan

While the cracks

occur systematically,
they are not the
result of form. Their
correspondence to
SECTION OF KITCHEN the
AND edge stress trends
FLOOR PLAN OF THE RESTUARANT of the finite element
analysis instead sug-
SITE PLAN gests they have
occurred due to
FULL SCALE MODEL OF SHELL STRUCTURE creep.

The force paths from these over- The largest membrane forces are carried along
hangs act in the the intersections between the forms, called the Patched creep crack
opposite direction from forces groins. and crack
along the arched This areas are thickened by creating pattern layout.
groin, reducing outward thrust. hidden steel reinforced “V” beams. The rest of
the structure has minimal reinforcing to address
creep and temperature effects, but essentially ELSA FATIMA
works entirely in compression. 170823924
The symmetrical B.ARCH 3RD YEAR SEC-A
plan and innovative use of “V” beams allows ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN-V
edges free of stiffening beams, revealing the DIT UNIVERSITY
radical thickness of the 4cm (1 ½”) shell.
ROOF PLAN AXONOMETRIC VIEW