Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
Turkmenistan Gates of Hell Darvaza crater
Turkmenistan • 10 days, 9 nights
Turkmenistan & the Gates of Hell
from
Slovenia mushroom foraging
Slovenia • 6 days, 5 nights
Forest to Table in Alpine Slovenia
from
View all trips
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
“Yo Soy el Buen Pastor Ego Sum Pastor Bonus” by Bernardo Ramonfaur.
Museo Arquidiocesano de Arte Sacro (Archdiocese Sacred Art Museum)
Burke Building.
Burke Building
‘La Grande Assiette Brisée’ (‘The Large Broken Plate’)
Ellijay Mushrooms Farm
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
View of the full general store from the second floor.
MoonPie General Store
A slice of cake is the perfect coda to a meal at Piatto Romano.
Piatto Romano
Crunchy and supremely satisfying, suppli might be the ultimate street food snack.
Supplizio
The pedigreed pistachios here are from Bronte.
Gelateria dei Gracchi
This tiny hole-in-the-wall serves one of the world’s most magnificent sandwiches.
Er Buchetto
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
Our journey begins in Texas—more specifically in Big Bend National Park.
The Atlas Obscura (Audio) Guide to the National Parks
about 8 hours ago
While initially unsanctioned, Toronto’s graffiti community converted this largely ignored alleyway into an epicenter of world-class street art.
10 Unexpected Places Where Creativity Shines in Toronto
about 8 hours ago
Prehistoric creatures roam the grounds of the Dinosaur House.
Roadside Dinosaurs: An American Love Story
about 9 hours ago
There’s No Right Way to Say ‘Taco’
about 12 hours ago

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All Mexico Mexico City Espacio Escultórico (Sculptural Space)

Espacio Escultórico (Sculptural Space)

A series of abstract sculptures pop up from an otherworldly volcanic landscape.

Mexico City, Mexico

Added By
linkogecko
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
Espacio Escultórico.   Alfredo Gayou/cc by 2.0
Espacio Escultórico.   Alfredo Gayou/cc by 2.0
The blue “Colotl.”   linkogecko / Atlas Obscura User
Detail of Federico Silva’s “Las Serpientes del Pedregal y Ocho Conejos.”   linkogecko / Atlas Obscura User
Inside “Ave Dos.”   linkogecko / Atlas Obscura User
Hersúa’s “Ave Dos” covered in graffiti.   linkogecko / Atlas Obscura User
Mathias Goeritz’s “Corona del Pedregal.”   linkogecko / Atlas Obscura User
Overview of the Espacio.   linkogecko / Atlas Obscura User
View inside Helen Escobedo’s “Coatl” toward “Corona del Pedregal.”   linkogecko / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

Near the southern edges of Mexico City’s urban sprawl, you can find the pedregales (stony grounds). These fields of volcanic stone caused by the eruptions of the Xitle volcano (which also caused the abandonment of the pre-Columbian city of Cuicuilco) are some of the most unique geological features of this massive metropolis. They are also home to many important cultural institutions built atop the former lava flows. Perhaps chief among them is the Central Campus of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).

Since its 1952 inauguration, this central campus (known locally as C.U. for Ciudad Universitaria) has had a robust history. It was the focal point of the 1968 Summer Olympics, the site of a year-long student strike from 1999 to 2000, and was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2007. The Espacio Escultórico (Sculpture Space) is part of the central campus and is where large, colorful, abstract sculptures decorate and enhance the natural volcanic pedregales they sit atop.

The Espacio Escultórico was the brainchild of sculptor Federico Silva. It was inaugurated on April 23, 1979. The space contains six sculptures in total, in addition to one representing the park itself. 

"Las Serpientes del Pedregal y Ocho Conejos" ("The Snakes of the Pedregal and Eight Rabbits") by Federico Silva are a dark series of nested triangular figures and an origami-like animal carved out of volcanic stone. "Ave Dos" ("Bird Two") by Hersúa is an orange abstract geometrical shape. "Coatl" (Náhuatl for "snake") by Helen Escobedo is comprised of a collection of off-set square outlines painted in shades of warm colors. "Colotl" (Náhuatl for "scorpion") by Sebastián is a large metallic abstract interpretation of the animal, painted electric blue. "Corona del Pedregal" ("Crown of the Pedregal") by Mathias Goeritz is a series of five long, thin, pink pentagonal pyramids. Manuel Felguérez’s "Variante de la Llave de Kepler" ("Variant of Kepler’s Key") is a multi-colored, metallic abstract figure.

The final structure represents Espacio Escultórico itself. A ring with an outside diameter of 393 feet (120 meters) topped by 74 massive stone prisms are meant to represent a pre-Columbian worldview. In the center of this ring, the undisturbed pedregal landscape can be fully appreciated.

Related Tags

Art Park Sculpture Gardens Sculptures Universities

Know Before You Go

The nearest metro station is Universidad on Line 3. The closest Metrobús station is Centro Cultural Universitario on Line 1 (red).

Atlas Obscura Adventures

Flavors of Oaxaca: Markets, Mezcal & Home-Cooked Meals

A Culinary and Cultural Journey Through Oaxaca.

Book Now

Community Contributors

Added By

linkogecko

Edited By

EDurban

  • EDurban

Published

October 8, 2019

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • https://www.mexicodesconocido.com.mx/centro-cultural-universitario-unam.html
  • http://whc.unesco.org/en/news/364
Espacio Escultórico (Sculptural Space)
National Autonomous University of Mexico
Mexico City, 04510
Mexico
19.318777, -99.182538
Visit Website
Get Directions

Nearby Places

UNAM Botanical Garden

Mexico City, Mexico

miles away

Museo de Anatomopatología (Museum of Pathological Anatomy)

Mexico City, Mexico

miles away

'La Conquista de la Energia' ('The Conquest of Energy')

Mexico City, Mexico

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Mexico City

Mexico City

Mexico

Places 180
Stories 17

Nearby Places

UNAM Botanical Garden

Mexico City, Mexico

miles away

Museo de Anatomopatología (Museum of Pathological Anatomy)

Mexico City, Mexico

miles away

'La Conquista de la Energia' ('The Conquest of Energy')

Mexico City, Mexico

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Mexico City

Mexico City

Mexico

Places 180
Stories 17

Related Places

  • Nathan Manilow Sculpture Park.

    University Park, Illinois

    Nathan Manilow Sculpture Park

    A sprawling outdoor museum filled with larger-than-life works of art.

  • Larger than life numbers outside the math and engineering buildings at The Ohio State University.

    Columbus, Ohio

    Garden of Constants

    This whimsical campus lawn is dotted with large sculpted numbers and hidden mathematical formulas.

  • A large sculpture in a field with a rainbow behind it.

    Chattanooga, Tennessee

    Sculpture Fields at Montague Park

    Stroll among more than 50 large-scale sculptures created by world-class artists.

    Sponsored by Chattanooga Tourism
  • Other iconic sculptures include a stylized revisitation of the Greek myth of Leda and the Swan by Colombian sculptor Fernando Bottero.

    Orlando, Florida

    Lake Nona Sculpture Garden

    A public, open-air art exhibit featuring world-renowned sculptures hides in plain sight on the outskirts of Orlando.

  • The Awakening by Lorri Acott, one of the nearly 100 pieces on display.

    Little Rock, Arkansas

    Vogel Schwartz Sculpture Garden

    Art blooms at this unique outdoor gallery along the banks of the Arkansas River.

  • Knislinge, Sweden

    'Fideicommissum'

    A bronze, peeing self-portrait protests unequal inheritance rights.

  • The majestic, moss-hung oasis of Brookgreen Gardens’ Live Oak Allée.

    Murrells Inlet, South Carolina

    Live Oak Allée at Brookgreen Gardens

    Take a stroll through this centuries-old tunnel of enormous moss-hung evergreens, nestled among the grounds of America’s first public sculpture garden.

  • Yermo, California

    Liberty Sculpture Park

    A collection of anti-communist sculptures stands watch in the Mojave Desert.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.