Mexico City is sinking and the reason for this is that, for centuries, the water in the underground aquifers was consumed to the point where the subsoil dried up, which is now causing the sinking. Therefore, it is projected that within 150 years, buildings such as the Metropolitan Cathedral or the Basilica of Guadalupe will sink 30 meters.
The first building to fall will be the Palacio de Bellas Artes, which was built under the government of Porfirio Díaz. At the beginning of the 20th century, President Porfirio commissioned the construction of the new national theater to two important figures: the Italian architect, Adamo Boari, and the Mexican engineer, Gonzalo Garita.
Before beginning the plans, Adamo Boari traveled to France and the United States to be inspired by other venues, and one of the greatest inspirations was the Paris Opera. However, when the Italian architect returned from his trip, he told Gonzalo Garita that he wanted to build a palace completely covered in marble.
But the Mexican engineer found flaws in the plan due to the subsoil, since the ground on which it was to be built was made of montmorillonite, a clay that tends to expand if exposed to water, so it was not the ideal material to support a structure of concrete, iron and marble. In addition, the foundations had another important characteristic: there was a stream of water that crossed them in a northwesterly direction.
However, due to the confrontation about the impossibilities of building, Adamo Boari decided to fire Gonzalo Garita, so the project began without an engineer. During its construction, the theater already showed signs of sinking, this was because each square meter of the metal structure exerted an approximate weight of 10 to 12 tons per square meter.
Gonzalo Garita took advantage of the inauguration of El Palacio Postal to point out to Porfirio Díaz the collapse of the theater, however, with the outbreak of the Mexican Revolution, Adamo Boari returned to Europe and left the work unfinished. The project was scheduled to be finished in four years, but it was completed three decades later thanks to funding from the Ministry of Finance.
Source: informador
