Role: Head of Design and New Business Development at CREO.
Arboleda represents a new approach to real estate development in Mexico.
In the early 2010s, as the country and the city of San Pedro faced a severe crime crisis, Arboleda entered the market with a radical proposal: a departure from the conventional model of gated developments surrounded by perimeter walls and limited access points. Instead, Arboleda was conceived as an integrated piece of the city—open to its surroundings, seamlessly connected to adjacent streets, and centered around high-quality public spaces.
Located in the business heart of San Pedro, Arboleda was developed on the former office gardens of the Vitro company, following a master plan designed by César Pelli. As Head of Design and New Business Development at CREO, I led the integration of new parcels into Pelli’s original vision and directed the design development for Phases 2 through 5. My role also included leading the implementation of the Distrito Valle del Campestre Mobility Master Plan—a community-led urban improvement initiative spearheaded by CREO.
In the early 2010s, as the country and the city of San Pedro faced a severe crime crisis, Arboleda entered the market with a radical proposal: a departure from the conventional model of gated developments surrounded by perimeter walls and limited access points. Instead, Arboleda was conceived as an integrated piece of the city—open to its surroundings, seamlessly connected to adjacent streets, and centered around high-quality public spaces.
Located in the business heart of San Pedro, Arboleda was developed on the former office gardens of the Vitro company, following a master plan designed by César Pelli. As Head of Design and New Business Development at CREO, I led the integration of new parcels into Pelli’s original vision and directed the design development for Phases 2 through 5. My role also included leading the implementation of the Distrito Valle del Campestre Mobility Master Plan—a community-led urban improvement initiative spearheaded by CREO.
The master plan includes 10 buildings, comprising over 600 residential units and approximately 35,000 square meters of retail and restaurant space, interwoven with shaded plazas and pedestrian corridors. Additionally, it features more than 50,000 square meters of office space designed to accommodate a new generation of workplaces within walking distance of homes, shops, and green spaces.
The project’s scale and mix of uses position it as a model for sustainable and connected urban development in Mexico.
Design: Pelli Clarke & Partners
Status: Built (2018)
The building’s name “The Cloud” comes from it’s cloud shaped floor plan - a shape that delivers extraordinary perspectives from both the inside and outside of the building. However, its circular perimeter walls are an additional challenge for getting the best out of every unit.
My role involved supervising the layout designs for Pelli’s complexly shaped building together with design firm Theorema. Each layout required careful detailing to meet market programmatic expectations while adhering to the building’s unique form.
Collaborators: Theorema Design and Cuatro44
Images: Arboleda; Pelli Clarke & Partners
Design: Pich Architects
Status: Built (2020)
This project was envisioned to be a benchmark for energy efficiency, with a program and business model centered on wellness. It features amenities such as a gym, spa, urban garden, and restaurants focused on healthy dining, fostering a holistic environment for well-being.
Images: Pich Architects
Design: Tatian Bilbao Estudio
Status: Under Construction
On a property adjacent to Arboleda acquired by CREO, I led the integration of César Pelli’s master plan with a new conceptual design developed in collaboration with Tatiana Bilbao. Our goal was to enhance the master plan’s relationship with the surrounding public streets.
The result was Roble, a building fronting Avenida Roble that introduced an active, transparent ground floor and an inviting pedestrian passage. It also provided residential units within a fully integrated urban context, something entirely new for San Pedro at the time.
Images: Tatiana Bilbao Estudio
Design: Melk! + Ecotono + Global SOS
Status: Built (2025)
On a warming planet, humanity must improve how we integrate with and relate to natural ecosystems—we must learn to coexist. Yet in Monterrey, the local idiosyncrasy has long glorified foreign plant species that demand excessive water and maintenance, while menospreciando (disregarding) native flora that has thrived for centuries without human intervention.
At Arboleda, we created a botanical garden to educate the community on the resilience, value, and beauty of local plant species. We hope this garden becomes a seed for broader cultural change—one that deepens our physical, mental, and emotional connection to the natural context that surrounds us.
Images: Mekl!, Javier Leal
Design: Grain Collective + Ecotono
Status: Built (2018)
As Design Director at CREO, I led the public-private initiative Distrito Valle del Campestre to design and implement an active mobility master plan for the neighborhood. This effort catalyzed a broader movement for pedestrian infrastructure in the city—one that I later championed during my tenure at IMPLANG.
Between 2016 and 2018, we collaborated with the city to renovate sidewalks, eliminate physical barriers, and introduce a comfortable, accessible pedestrian path enriched by a lush landscape of native trees and vegetation.
Images: Ecotono, Javier Leal