Tiny chapels are everywhere in Mexico City.
On street corners, pavements, trees and restaurants. They are built by residents.. not architects. Each one is different, and each one is also cared for.
During the AA Visiting School - Excess & Experiments, we explore unusual and extreme architectural examples of expressions of popular culture in Mexico. Inspired by these, we then build our own tiny chapels.
What makes it a chapel? What makes it yours? You will answer these questions in your own way, learning from Mexico City and each other's references.
The pictures show photos of tiny chapels found on the streets of Mexico City @tidepeca , alternating with examples designed and made during the course in 2025.
📅 July 20–31, 2026 · Applications open · Link in bio
#TinyChapels #Capillita #StreetArchitecture #PopularArchitecture #CDMX #SelfBuilt #UrbanArchitecture #MexicoCity #ExcessAndExperiments #AAVisitingSchool
What are tiny chapels?
They may be the most honest buildings in Mexico City... For years, our programme head @soutonco has archived and studied these street-level sanctuaries @tidepeca and will open his expert knowledge to us.
No one commissioned them, no architect designed them: they were built by residents (sometimes overnight) to mark an event, protect a corner, honour a saint, or simply claim a piece of the street.
They come in every material, every shape and decorative finish. Some are the size of a shoebox. Some are large enough to stand in. They represent how people perceive architecture in their city.
This is the typology at the centre of our visiting school Excess & Experiments. We study them across the city, and we the. build our own.
📅 July 20–31, 2026
🔗 Link in bio to apply today.
#TinyChapels #Capillita #MexicoCity #PopularArchitecture #SelfBuilt #StreetArchitecture #ExcessAndExperiments #AAVisitingSchool #VernacularArchitecture #ArchitectureAndBelief #EverydayArchitecture #CDMX #UrbanCulture
📸 @cecivaldesi
🗺️ C. Matamoros 75, Tlalnepantla Centro.
🧱 TIDEPECA adosada a la banqueta, situada en una esquina y encajada entre un muro perimetral y un poste de concreto. Está construida con block repellado y pintado en tonos amarillo y verde. Cuenta con vitrinas de vidrio y marcos metálicos que resguardan imágenes religiosas y flores artificiales. En la parte superior sobresale una corona de rey hecha en lámina pintada de dorado.
#️⃣ #edomex #tipología #pequeñascapillas #laesteticadelaesperanza #typology #tinychapels #theaestheticsofhope #hope #esperanza #morena #morenita #guadalupe #virgendeguadalupe #arquitecturadelaculturapopular #arqdelaculpop #ecclesiola #basilicula
Ayer después de hace cinco años regresé a la Galería de Arte del Genoma Mesoamericano. Tienes esta capilla en el edificio de enfrente. Donde tienen el taller.
