The city of Bayamon sits just outside the city limits of bustling San Juan, Puerto Rico. In 2007, Bayamon embarked upon a major redevelopment endeavor, seeking to rejuvenate the city center. Given their passion for enhancing communities, ai3 willingly joined the effort, submitting plans for a massive mixed-use development in response to Bayamon’s call for proposals.

Designed to promote commercial redevelopment that will ultimately link Bayamon to San Juan, ai3’s Renacer Centro Urbano is a finely balanced mixture of retail, residential and public space. Each usage is carefully articulated to exist independently and harmoniously with the greater development. ai3’s design plan pairs dramatic and symmetrical structures which arc around a public plaza. Within the plaza, a visually stunning installation of fabric sails and series of water features add energy and movement to the public space.

With great consideration paid to accommodating a pedestrian experience amongst high-density concerns, ai3 designed the structures as compositions in shape and scale. The 5-story Plaza Building hugs the pedestrian plaza giving a human scale to the greater development. Intersecting the Plaza Building and rising above it, along the street, The Tower Building is an 18-story residential high-rise. A smaller-scale retail and parking facility completes the structure and offers rooftop amenities for residents, such as playgrounds and pools.

Given the mixed-use intent of Renacer Centro Urbano, ai3 carefully configured access for pedestrian and vehicular traffic so that the two are intuitive and non-competitive. Ample parking is discretely housed underground and between the street and residential levels. Screens are incorporated to soften the visual impact wherever parking space is visible to the public. Vehicular traffic is strategically diverted from all pedestrian areas. Retail space is confined to street level giving a safe, inviting and compelling commercial presence to this modern city center.