Pascal Architects, winner of First Prize of the International Biennial
Location: Lomas de Tecamachalco, Mexico City, Mexico
The Rachel mikvah is a ritual bath of purification in the Jewish religion. You can only do diving in fresh spring water, or in a place specially dedicated to this, fed by rainwater should be collected, stored and communicated to the vessel bath is called mikveh. All this must be made under a very strict set of rules related to the degree of water purity. These rules include also the use of materials, architectural measures and water treatment.
The mikvah is mostly used by women once a month for brides-to conversions and certain holidays. There is also a Mikve used for purification of all elements of cooking and food preparation. It is known that the mikvah represents the womb, therefore, when a person enters the bathroom is newly returned to it, and when it emerges, as if reborn. In this way, one arrives at a totally new and purified condition.
Its symbolism is at the same time, a tomb, therefore, can not be performed the ritual bath in a tub, but must be built directly into the ground. The fact illustrate the mikvah as much as the woman's womb at the same time as the grave, it becomes a contradiction, since both are places where you can breathe, and yet are endpoints of the cycle of life.
The act of immersion works as an act of renewal and rebirth. According to the Bible, when a man is in an unclean condition, it is impossible to enter the Holy Temple, under the most severe punishment. In order to purify and shed its current condition must been through the water, immersing in the mikvah. Water will be a fundamental link between man and the Garden of Eden. This is why the water that comes here must come from its original state, and have no contact with man, because of its spiritual healer status. Therefore, the water will go through anything to be unclean, because it could well break the direct link with the River Eden.