Rosan Bosch | Universidad de la Libertad

Universidad de la Libertad

2023, Mexico City, Mexico

Universidad de la Libertad in Mexico City is a new university set to redefine higher education. Students are offered a highly flexible learning environment with a forward-thinking, spatial organization designed to encourage innovation and increase the creativity and critical thinking of each student. The spaces inspire and empower students to think out of the box and develop new ideas in a university where hybrid learning is at the center of the educational concept.

The new university was founded by Ricardo B. Salinas Pliego, founder and chairman of Grupo Salinas, and developed in partnership with Minerva University, a renowned Silicon Valley-based education innovator. Other educational partners comprise Southwestern University and UFM Universidad Francisco Marroquín.

Rosan Bosch Studio has reimagined the traditional office building in the Miguel Hidalgo district of Mexico City and transformed it into a state-of-the-art learning ecosystem. Eschewing the original building's conventional layout, the studio has designed an awe-inspiring inner space spanning 3 floors, the Núcleo de la Luz (the core of light), serving as an inspirational space where users, staff, and guests can converge and exchange innovative ideas during events or informal, unplanned encounters. The openness creates connections to all space typologies.

Universidad de la Libertad occupies 6,000 sqm on the two lower floors. On 10,000 sqm of the two upper floors, the middle school and high school students from the Humanitree School are offered a glimpse of higher education and invited to imagine their future learning path. Locating a school in an open, inviting connection with higher education is a unique model.

The Universidad de la Libertad was officially opened on the 4th of September 2023. The first class of students has now enrolled in a flexible and personalized program based on a phygital approach that takes the best of face-to-face and digital interaction to create immersive learning experiences. The curriculum is interdisciplinary, combining active and experiential learning, and allowing maximum flexibility for multi-generational learners. A business degree is offered with lifelong learning opportunities to follow.

Rosan Bosch Studio has been the lead architect and designer and collaborated with, among others, C Cúbica Arquitectos in the execution phase.

Nucleo de la Luz

The multi-purpose atrium reaches out in four directions to all corners of the world. The flow of the building leads users to the multi-chromatic and extraordinary inner space, the Núcleo de la Luz (the core of light). Here, students, staff, and guests experience the energy and power of learning. The Núcleo lets them imagine the possibilities and potential to be explored. Light is used as a metaphor. Specifically, the moment when light goes through a prism and breaks down into different colors that represent the versatile spaces and the fact that we are all different and learn in different ways.

Differentiated study spaces

The architectural concept and design create a dynamic and adaptive learning experience that supports learning to happen in three spheres: the physical, the digital, and, in the combination of both, the phygital. Different learning spaces are offered, and fixed spaces cater to dedicated activities and include offices and classrooms designed to provide a comfortable and productive environment for students to learn, interact, collaborate, and immersein their own creativity. The university’s flexible spaces can adapt to a range of activities and people, and can accommodate a large number of people for special events. Furthermore, the university offers start-up spaces that can be booked as needed, allowing students or entrepreneurs to collaborate on projects.

The spatial concept consists of three types of spaces conceived as a new way of organizing a higher educational institution. The flexibility equals adaptability and it is future-proof as it will cater to the development of Universidad de la Libertad. The spaces are ‘Fixed, Flux, Flexible’:

Fixed: Closed and reservable spaces
Flux: Open spaces, not reservable
Flexible: Open and reservable spaces