
Six years ago, the 2017 earthquake left deep scars across various parts of the country, including Mexico City, where several buildings suffered severe structural damage and were subsequently evacuated. One of these is the SCOP Center (Centro SCOP). Designed by architects Carlos Lazo, Augusto Pérez Palacios, and Raúl Cacho, this integrated sculptural and pictorial complex features murals by Juan O'Gorman, José Chávez Morado, Francisco Zúñiga, and Rodrigo Arenas Betancourt. Today, it stands as one of Mexico's most significant 20th-century artistic monuments. Spanning over 6,000 square meters of gross floor area, it is widely considered one of the most successful examples of the *Integración Plástica* (Plastic Integration) movement.
A year after the complex was vacated, a group of citizens published their first Manifesto-Letter, “In Defense of the Artistic Heritage of the SCOP Center,” addressed to government institutions to express their concerns regarding the future of a space that ultimately belongs to the public.




