Forest-Compatible Vertical Neighborhood

Carazo Arquitectura's LTR1 is a Mixed-Use Development

Costa Rica-based practice Carazo Arquitectura has designed a vertical neighborhood called LTR1. This 60,265-square-meter mixed-use development is located in Nuevo Cuscatlán, El Salvador. The concept was recently awarded both Jury Winner and Popular Choice Winner honors at the Architizer A+Awards in the Unbuilt Multi-Unit Housing category.

Carazo Arquitectura's LTR1 proposes a hybrid building that integrates over 400 middle-income residential units with retail, gastronomy, coworking spaces, wellness facilities, and public areas into a continuous vertical and horizontal neighborhood. The design was fundamentally shaped by an existing forest at the center of the site, with the building bending into an oval configuration around the trees to preserve ecological continuity. The roofline, on the other hand, was derived from geometric translations of the surrounding mountain profiles, including El Picacho and the San Salvador volcano.

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