Culture shock is defined as the disorientation experienced when suddenly subjected to an unfamiliar culture or way of life. Having read this we should pose the question: disorientation with regard to what? One of the most important instruments of architectural design is the capacity for empathy, the ability to place oneself in someone else’s situation in order to design for that situation. There is no better way of getting to know your own country than by travelling to other countries and undergoing culture shock. In order to get to know your own country differently you have to have interacted with another, you have to have begun to understand what it means to live and work in that other country.

The project will focus on Mexico City, nearly the largest megalopolis on earth. The plan is to select a specific urban site within Mexico City for which a design will be realized.