Architects: Rojkind Arquitectos
Location: Insurgentes Sur, Mexico City, Federal District, Mexico
Architects In Charge: Michel Rojkind y Gerardo Salinas
Project Area: 825 sqm
Project Year: 2010
Photographs: Jaime Navarro
Design Team: Alberto Villarreal, Gerardo Villanueva, Rodrigo Medina, Arie de Jongh, Victor Martínez, Juan Carlos Sainz, Adrian Aguilar, Alfredo Hernandez, Andrea León, Beatriz Zavala, Marielle Rivero, Nadezda Stankovic, Felipe Casta?eda, Isaac Smeke, Víctor Alemán, Enrique de la Barrera, Davis Guajardo, Daniela Bustamante, Joe Tarr, Will Fox, Philipp Schlauch, Arie Hendrik, Diego Leál, Ignacio Cabrera, Linda Martínez, Karina Amparán, José de Jesús Guerra
Interior Design: Servicios Liverpool SA de CV
Structural Engineer: EMR SA
Fa?ade Engineer: Studio NYL
Mep: RCC
Fa?ade Installation: Alitech, Arquimart, Todo en Metal
Lighting Consultant: Ideas y Proyectos en Luz
Landscape Consultant: Entorno Taller de Paisaje
Fa?ade Area: 2400 sqm
From the architect. A successful department store had moved for ward with plans to expand and occupy what was once a ver y important open urban space at the busy intersection of Insurgentes and Felix Cuevas avenues in the southern quadrant of
Mexico City.
With the opening of a new subway line station at the corner of the site, and its subsequent increase in pedestrian traffic and transport transfer activity, it became apparent that the typical closed retail “big box” model had to be questioned and a new identity given to the existing store’s fa?ade to achieve a more dynamic urban presence and promote the brand.
We proposed to give the box a permeable an animated envelope where inside activity can be showcased and interact with urban activity. A “deep wall” system where new programmatic options can be explored blurring the line between inside and outside and giving the user and passer by a more interactive experience.
A variety of temporar y programs and/or displays can be housed within the porous habitable fa?ade that becomes a mediator between the busy surrounding urban condition and the department store’s traditionally programmed interiors.
Inspired by Moiré patterns and optical art the 2.8m deep wall fa?ade consists of a three-layer multi-sized hexagon system in fiberglass, steel, aluminum and glass.
The resulting spaces are accessible from the interior through large openings that reveal the inside of the store to the passer by and vice versa and are connected between them through stairs and ramps allowing the dweller to navigate within the fa?ade.
To maintain attainability this project took full advantage of Mexico’s skilled craftsmen and rich tradition in metal work to overcome the unique challenge in fabrication and budget constraints. The result of this “digital design / local fabrication” model is unique in its high-tech but crafted qualities.
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- Diagram
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- Insurgentes Section
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- Felix Cuevas Section
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- Oso Section
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- Insurgentes Elevation
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- Felix Cuevas Elevation
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- Oso Street Elevation
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- Fa?ade Section
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- Fa?ade Section
