Rainfall Buries a Mega-Airport in Mexico

The article discusses the work of landscape architect José Echeverría, who has been tasked with restoring the Lake Texcoco ecosystem in Mexico City. Echeverría's approach is centered around "living engineering" or a "soft infrastructure," which prioritizes evolving strategies over rigid plans. He believes that this approach will allow for a more resilient and adaptive solution to the lake's problems.

Echeverría's design incorporates structures from the abandoned airport project, such as precast concrete, which allows for easier replacement work and guarantees a quality of work that is not easy to achieve with on-site production. The area serves as a "buffer zone" that absorbs water, giving drainage time to work without flooding the city.

The article highlights Echeverría's philosophy, which is influenced by theologian Raimon Panikkar's concept of syncretism and the union of opposites. He believes that this approach can be applied to other depleted environments, including those affected by climate change.

Echeverría sees the current crisis as an opportunity for innovation and creative solutions. "The good news is that because we've done things so badly, there's a lot of room for improvement," he says. "This moment of crisis is the perfect moment for creative industries and for people with ideas. Anything goes and everything can be reimagined."

Overall, the article presents Echeverría's work as a hopeful example of how to restore degraded ecosystems and adapt to climate change through innovative design and philosophy.

I think its cool that they're using abandoned airport stuff for the lake restoration . That precast concrete is really smart, makes sense that it would be better than on-site production. Echeverría's approach is all about being flexible and adapting to problems, which I think is a great way forward. Not so sure about the syncretism thing though, sounds a bit too spiritual for me . Still, its good that he sees this crisis as an opportunity for innovation and new ideas. We need more of that .

I don't get why they're calling it "living engineering" ... isn't that just what engineers do? Design stuff that doesn't fall apart after a while? It seems like a no-brainer to me, but I guess Echeverría's trying to say that his way is better because it's more flexible and adaptable.

I'm not sure about the airport parts being used in the design... isn't that kinda weird? And how does using precast concrete help with flooding? Isn't that just gonna delay the problem? But I guess if he thinks it's a good idea, who am I to argue?

I'm loving this "living engineering" approach! It's so refreshing to see someone like José Echeverría thinking outside the box (or plan) when it comes to restoring our planet's ecosystems. I mean, who needs rigid plans when you can adapt and evolve with the environment? And using structures from an abandoned airport project is genius! I'm definitely inspired to see how this approach can be applied to other depleted environments, like coastal areas affected by climate change.

I also love that Echeverría sees the current crisis as an opportunity for innovation and creative solutions. It's true, we've got a lot of room for improvement, and it's time for us to think differently about how we design our cities and ecosystems. Anything goes, right?

I'm loving this project! Did you know that Lake Texcoco used to be 10 times bigger than its current size? It's crazy to think about the ecosystem's potential now. I checked some stats on water management, and Mexico City loses around 400 million gallons of water daily due to drainage issues . Echeverría's design is all about using 'soft infrastructure' to handle that – it's like a shock absorber for the city!

I also saw a cool graph showing how cities with green spaces and parks have lower CO2 emissions . I guess this project can be seen as an opportunity to not only restore the ecosystem but also contribute to global climate goals . The fact that Echeverría's approach is inspired by theologian Raimon Panikkar's concept of syncretism makes me think about the power of interdisciplinary collaboration .

Here are some more stats:
- 70% of Mexico City is made up of wetlands, but they're being drained at an alarming rate .
- The current airport project has been abandoned – what a waste! Using precast concrete from that project makes perfect sense .
- If we adapt to climate change like Echeverría suggests, we could prevent up to 11°C of warming by 2100 . That's a big deal!

I'm loving this approach by José Echeverría ! "Living engineering" makes so much sense for restoring Lake Texcoco, it's like he's saying we don't need a blueprint for every single moment, we can adapt as we go along. And I love how he's using recycled airport materials, it's all about reducing waste and being sustainable . This guy is a genius, and if his methods work for the lake, who knows what else could be fixed with this approach? Maybe we can even apply it to other cities too .

I'm loving this idea of "living engineering" ! Like, our current approaches are so rigid and traditional, it's time for something new and flexible. José Echeverría's approach sounds like a breath of fresh air, especially with climate change being such a big deal right now . Using abandoned airport materials is genius too - who knew old airport structures could be repurposed for good? And I love how he sees this as an opportunity for innovation and creative solutions . The whole idea of "anything goes" and reimagining everything is so inspiring . Can't wait to see the progress on restoring Lake Texcoco!

So they're calling it "living engineering" now? Sounds like someone needs a new buzzword to replace "smart growth" Anyway, I'm sure José Echeverría's approach is super innovative... once you get past the "we've done things so badly" part. Still, I guess it's good that he's looking at climate change as an opportunity for creative solutions – we all need a little boost of hope, right? The thing is, can his soft infrastructure really make up for the fact that Mexico City's drainage system has been a disaster waiting to happen? Only time (and a lot more rain) will tell...

omg i just read about this lake restoration project in mexico city and it's literally giving me hope jose echeverría's approach to "living engineering" is so cool - instead of just throwing money at the problem, he's creating a whole new way of thinking about how to restore ecosystems. using old airport materials for the structure is genius too - who knew that could be repurposed in such a beautiful way? and i love what he says about this being the perfect moment for innovation and creative solutions... it feels like we're on the cusp of something big

[A picture of a person holding a puzzle piece, with a green background]

[An image of a lake with a soft, water-like texture]

[A screenshot from a video game with a character building a bridge between two separate islands]

[A photo of a concrete structure with a clock in the background, counting down]

Ugh I'm literally so inspired by this man he's like the only one who gets it that we can't just keep slapping Band-Aids on these environmental issues we need real solutions not just some pie-in-the-sky idea of 'soft infrastructure' which sounds fancy but what does it even mean in practice?! I'm all for a little bit of creativity and thinking outside the box but come on this is a lake we're talking about people's lives depend on it not some hipster art project

I love how he's referencing Panikkar's syncretism thing though that's like super deep stuff I'm no expert or anything but it sounds like he's trying to bring these different disciplines together and find a new way of thinking about the world which is totally necessary we need more people like him who aren't afraid to get their hands dirty and think outside the box

omg this guy José Echeverría is like a genius ! his approach to "living engineering" makes so much sense, prioritizing flexibility over rigid plans is the way forward . i love how he's taking old airport structures and turning them into something new and beautiful, it's like a breath of fresh air . and what's really inspiring about him is that crisis can be an opportunity for innovation & creativity . we need more people like him who are not afraid to think outside the box and come up with solutions that are actually going to work . let's keep cheering him on and supporting his amazing work

this guy is literally a genius , I mean, have you seen the way he's tackling this environmental disaster? it's like, he's not just throwing money at it or building more roads, he's actually thinking about how to make the ecosystem work for itself. living engineering is the way forward, imo . and can we talk about how cool it is that he's using abandoned airport materials? like, who needs new when you can repurpose old, right?

I'm intrigued by José Echeverría's approach to "living engineering" , but I have some reservations about the feasibility of his ideas. I mean, prioritizing adaptive strategies over rigid plans is a good start, but how do we balance that with the need for concrete action and resources? It sounds like a lot of 'think outside the box' stuff, which can be great, but what happens when it's just not possible to try new things without causing more harm?

I also wonder if Echeverría's reliance on precast concrete from abandoned airport projects is a long-term solution or just a Band-Aid on a bigger problem? And what about the environmental impact of using materials that were meant for an airport project in the first place? It seems like we're trying to solve one problem while potentially creating another.

I think its really cool that José is taking an ecosystem restoration project and turning it into a opportunity for innovation . I mean, he's not just building something, he's trying to fix the problems that got us here in the first place. The idea of "living engineering" makes sense to me - we can't keep going on with the same old plans and expecting different results. We need to be flexible and adaptable. And using materials from an abandoned airport project is genius , I'd love to see more projects like that.

I'm also loving how he's bringing together this idea of syncretism and union of opposites - it feels so relevant in today's world where we're trying to balance human needs with environmental concerns. Its not just about solving the problems of Lake Texcoco, its about applying those lessons to other places too .

What I find most inspiring is that he sees this crisis as an opportunity for growth and creativity , rather than a disaster waiting to happen. Thats something we can all get behind

im loving this approach of living engineering lol it's like, we don't need to just slap some fancy designs on a project and call it done. we gotta be open to change and willing to try new things. the idea of using structures from old airport projects is genius who needs traditional construction methods when you can repurpose and recycle right?

i also love how Echeverría sees this as an opportunity for innovation and creative solutions his syncretism philosophy reminds me of those anime shows where they combine different styles to create something new and awesome let's get more people thinking outside the box like that!

anyway, i think this is a super hopeful example of how we can restore degraded ecosystems and adapt to climate change it's not just about throwing money at problems, but about being creative and finding solutions that work for everyone

I'm loving the idea of "living engineering" here . It's so refreshing to see someone taking a holistic approach to problem-solving, considering the environment as a whole rather than just fixing symptoms. Echeverría's use of abandoned airport materials is genius - who would've thought that something like precast concrete could be repurposed for this purpose?

But what I'm not entirely sold on is whether his approach can scale up to bigger, more complex problems. I mean, climate change is a massive issue that requires some serious coordination and resources. Can his "soft infrastructure" model really adapt quickly enough to the pace of environmental degradation? And how will we ensure that this kind of innovative thinking isn't just a flash in the pan?

i dunno about this "living engineering" thingy... sounds like just an excuse for not having any real plans lol how much has he actually done? like, what's the point of using old airport materials from some abandoned project? just gonna cost more in the end and look all wonky

I think its pretty cool that they're trying to fix Lake Texcoco in Mexico City José Echeverría's idea about living engineering is like a breath of fresh air, you know? Instead of just throwing more concrete into the problem, he's thinking about how to work with nature and be more flexible. Using old airport stuff as part of his design is genius - it makes sense that reusing materials would be better than starting from scratch.

I love how he sees this crisis as a chance for innovation, too Like, sometimes you gotta hit rock bottom before you can start building something amazing back up. And I'm all for trying out new ideas and stuff! Its not easy to just throw everything away and do something completely different, but Echeverría seems like he's on the right track

I'm so glad I caught this thread after it was already dead . I think what I love most about José Echeverría's approach is that he's acknowledging the complexity of these problems and not trying to impose some one-size-fits-all solution. His focus on "living engineering" really resonates with me - it feels like we're finally getting to a point where we're recognizing that our traditional ways of thinking about infrastructure and design just aren't cutting it anymore . And I love how he's drawing inspiration from syncretism, it feels so... human . We don't have all the answers yet, but at least now there are more voices in the conversation, you know?