U.S. Consulate Compound
Matamoros, Mexico

Design/Build
Civil Engineer and Landscape Architect of Record
Design-Builder: BL Harbert International
Architect of Record : Page

Cowen Design Group served as the Civil Engineer and Landscape Architect of Record for the New Consulate project in Matamoros, Mexico. The project included a new office building, marine residence, recreational facilities, and ancillary infrastructure. The sitework includes integration of several plaza areas into the exterior covered public spaces under the building’s canopy. The softscape for the site provides essential shade where consular visitors gather while utilizing xeriscape design in reducing the total irrigation demand.

The project entailed the redevelopment of an existing hotel property to a high performance diplomatic facility, located three blocks from the United States border. Critical consideration included analyzing and developing flood protection countermeasures to enhance the site and building’s resiliency in the event of a catastrophic flood of the Rio Grande. The public interface of the project also took into account the surrounding community in creating off-street staff access public areas for queuing, to reduce adverse impacts from operations.