The designers of Puerto Vallarta’s revamped malecon have earned recognition from their peers, winning the top award at the biennial organized by the Federation of Architects Colleges of Mexico.
The polemic new boardwalk beat out the Cajititlan Malecon (also in Jalisco on the shores of Lake Cajititlan) and the Parque Centenario Laguna de Chapulco in Puebla, to win the top prize in the contest’s urban design category.
Ironically, just as the awards were been given out, work crews moved onto the Vallarta malecon to dig up and replace substandard wiring and fix other underground infrastructure problems. The malecon, which is now traffic free, has been praised by many, including local businesses, but is not universally admired, according to some sources. One report suggested that the local Chamber of Architects has sent a letter to its national federation expressing their disagreement with the award.