Architect(s): Rojkind Arquitectos
Address: Av de los Insurgentes Sur 1310, Col del Valle Sur, Benito Juárez, MEXICO CITY, Mexico
Latitude/Longitude: 19.372668,-99.178840
Photographs: Jaime Navarro
A successful department store had moved forward with plans to expand and occupy what was once a very 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 façade to achieve a more dynamic urban presence and promote the brand.
Architects 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 passerby a more interactive experience.
A variety of temporary programs and/or displays can be housed within the porous habitable façade 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 façade 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 passerby and vice versa and are connected between them through stairs and ramps allowing the dweller to navigate within the façade.
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.
Text description provided by the architects.
Client: Liverpool
Construction area: 825 square meters (8,880 square feet). Façade Area: 2,400 square meters (25,833 square feet)
Interior design: Servicios Liverpool SA de CV
Structural engineer: EMR SA
Façade engineer: Studio NYL
MEP: RCC
Façade installation: Alitech, Arquimart and Todo en Metal
Lighting consultant: Ideas en Luz
Landscape consultant: Entorno Taller de Paisaje
Renderings: Glessner Group
Contributed by Rojkind Arquitectos
