Context and Diagnosis

Maracaibo faced a structural deficit of quality public space. A 2012 survey of 100 residents clearly identified the city’s urban priorities: security (31%), parks and plazas (25%), transport (21%), and trees (19%). These preferences aligned with hard data: only 2.3 m² of green area per inhabitant (versus the WHO minimum of 9.2 m²), thermal sensations reaching 47°C, a fragmented transport system dominated by informal shared taxis, and one of the highest homicide rates in the region at the time.

Boulevard 5 de Julio (Calle 77) emerged as the site with the greatest transformative potential. It connects the city’s two main green lungs (Vereda del Lago and the Universidad del Zulia campus), concentrates intense commercial activity, and is crossed by 27 public transport lines. The Delicias Node stood out as the most critical conflict point — 12 bus lines plus the Metro connection — where mobility friction, heat, and weak public life converged.

Methodological Approach

The project was structured through a multi-scalar logic inspired by Rem Koolhaas’s S,M,L,XL framework, combined with the successful public space criteria of the Project for Public Spaces (sociability, uses and activities, urban interconnection, comfort and image). The underlying design hypothesis was deliberately Jane Jacobsian: densifying legitimate activity and continuous presence would generate natural surveillance — “eyes on the street” — and, with it, greater safety and civic life.

• XL – Urbanism: Complete traffic reorganization, exclusive bus lane, cycle network, and a major multimodal transfer node.

• L – Architecture: Comprehensive redesign of the Delicias Node as transfer station + public plaza + commercial and recreational platform.

• M – Technical-Constructive: Prefabricated modular system of 6×6 m blocks.

• S – Details: High-quality, ergonomic urban furniture, paving, and signage.

The Proposal

At the urban scale, Boulevard 5 de Julio is transformed into a priority corridor for pedestrians and public transport. Converting the avenue to one-way operation frees space for an exclusive bus channel and cycle paths, while parallel streets are reoriented. A zoning ordinance modification introduces fiscal incentives and land-value capture tools to consolidate specialized zones (Gourmet, Financial, Commercial, and Cultural) along the corridor.

At the Delicias Node, a multimodal transfer complex is created that integrates:

• High-capacity bus station

• Direct connection to Line 1 of the Maracaibo Metro

• Large shaded plazas under tensile and mesh canopies

• Micro-plazas and intimate stay spaces

• Active commercial and gastronomic edges

• Multi-level underground parking

• Strategic vegetation combined with solar protectors to mitigate extreme heat

The architecture relies on a modular system of prefabricated blocks (circulation, stay, cultural, recreational, commercial, landscape, and services) manufactured off-site and assembled on location, reducing material waste by up to 80%. Design criteria were modular, brutalist, bioclimatic, kinetic, and functionalist. The intervention required the strategic acquisition of 25 low-heritage lots (28,708 m²) within a larger impact area of 53,236 m².

Outcomes and Lessons

The project demonstrates that a high-conflict mobility node can be converted into a successful, vibrant public space that generates passive security through continuous activity and presence. It simultaneously addresses the four priority citizen demands: tree cover and thermal comfort, efficient mobility, quality public space, and increased perception of safety.

Beyond its academic origins, this work represents one of Hans Ratmiroff’s earliest systematic exercises at the intersection of quantitative diagnosis, multi-scalar urban strategy, and high-impact public space design in Global South contexts. The core principle — that safety and civic life emerge from dense, legitimate activity rather than from enclosure or control — remains a foundational idea within Civic Thinkers’ approach to urban transformation.