Mexico City, September 14, 2026 – The National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) has formally inaugurated its new UNAM Historic Center Campus in Mexico City. With the installation of its Governing Council yesterday, Sunday, September 13, the country’s premier educational institution seeks to strengthen its presence in the urban space where it first established its schools and faculties seven decades ago.
UNAM Consolidates Presence in Historic Heart of Mexico City
This initiative integrates various historical venues to optimize resources, preserve heritage, and enhance interaction among its communities. The project aims to create a vibrant academic and cultural corridor, offering public, open, and free access to knowledge for all.
San Agustín Temple to Become Central Hub by 2027
The focal point of this new university complex will be the ancient Templo de San Agustín, located at the intersection of Isabel La Católica and República de Uruguay streets. Scheduled for a partial opening in 2027, the building will become the central headquarters of the campus and give rise to the Claustro Abierto Universitario San Agustín (CAUSA).
This venue will host postgraduate programs and academic debates focused on applying scientific knowledge and humanities directly to serve the population and revitalize the urban sector. Rector Leonardo Lomelí Vanegas stated that the temple is envisioned as a place “where memory will be preserved and knowledge will be shared freely and generously with all society, from a transdisciplinary perspective.”
Lomelí Vanegas emphasized the inclusive nature of the project, noting that it will “strengthen the broadest, most plural, and inclusive cultural and educational corridor in the country, with public, open, and free access for all who pass through it.” He further highlighted that the campus’s creation enhances the university’s social utility by democratizing knowledge.
“In an academic, inclusive, and plural space, we will strengthen universal accessibility and support the decentralization and democratization of knowledge: the academic and cultural richness generated in our faculties, institutes, and cultural entities will reach the inhabitants of the Historic Center, their communities and collectives, and their visitors with greater force,” he added.
Restoration and Management of Historic Patrimony
Miguel Armando López Leyva, UNAM’s Coordinator of Humanities, underscored that the project will restore the architectural splendor of the former Templo de San Agustín, a building that housed Mexico’s National Library for nearly a century. He explained that the public opening of the site follows decades of continuous conservation, protection, and restoration efforts.
López Leyva remarked that “the upcoming partial opening of the Cloister adds to UNAM’s efforts to make culture and knowledge accessible to thousands of people.” Alberto Sarmiento Donate, coordinator of the UNAM Historic Center Campus and technical secretary of its Governing Council, explained that the initiative represents an institutional organizational model to operationally coordinate academic projects housed in the university’s properties in the area.
This scheme aims to optimize resources, protect historical real estate heritage, and strengthen the institution’s identity.
Key Buildings and Venues Integrated into the New Campus
The agreement for the campus’s establishment brings together an extensive network of historic buildings, museums, and cultural centers located in the capital’s main square. Notable venues included in the university structure are:
- The former Templo de San Agustín (campus central headquarters).
- The Academia de San Carlos and the Centro Cultural San Carlos.
- The Templo de San Pedro y San Pablo.
- The Colegio de San Ildefonso, along with its workshops and warehouses.
- The School of Jurisprudence and the School of Economics.
- The Cárceles de la Perpetua.
- The Palacio de Medicina, the Palacio de Minería, and the Palacio de la Autonomía.
- The Museo de la Mujer and its annex, as well as the Museo UNAM Hoy.
- The restoration workshops of the Faculty of Arts and Design.
- The Protomedicato and Secundaria Lancasteriana buildings.
- The República de Bolivia property.
- The University Program for Urban Studies and the General Directorate of Publications and Editorial Promotion.
Through this institutional articulation, UNAM plans to transform its venues in the Historic Center into a major hub for community engagement and a freely accessible educational development axis for citizens.
Source: Diario de México
