Mexican Architecture studio, Oficina de Práctica Arquitectónica has completed Plumbago, a Mediterranean-inspired restaurant and cultural venue located in the vibrant Cuauhtémoc neighborhood of Mexico City.

Set in a compact infill plot within one of the capital’s most vibrant culinary districts, Plumbago’s minimalist design uses a carefully curated selection of raw materials and precise construction techniques to bring texture and invite natural light into a simple and welcoming open space.

The small, former derelict site sits in between two high rise buildings just feet away from busy Reforma Avenue, the city’s financial district. The new venue provides a human scale, contrasting with the adjacent corporate feel of the nearby buildings and is composed of two main spaces enclosed by parallel pitched-roof volumes that vary in size and materiality. The larger, transparent structure made from corrugated polycarbonate sheet contains the main dining area and bar, which can accommodate up to 70 guests, while the smaller enclosed shed houses the private kitchen and service areas is made from Pintro sheet.

Plumbago provides an understated yet sophisticated backdrop for the restaurant’s Mediterranean-inspired menu, which prioritises the use of fresh, locally sourced produce.

La entrada Plumbago se publicó primero en Global Spaces.

This residential building in the San Pedro de los Pinos neighborhood of Mexico City seeks to achieve high urban density with 9 units on a lot that is 10m wide and 45m deep. In order to maximize the entry of light and avoid high and narrow ventilation cubes, 8 units were grouped vertically around 2 shared courtyards (the ninth unit faces the street). This scheme generates a typology of vertical units of 4 levels in which the staircase acts as a dynamic element that filters light into the depth of the dwelling. The vertical typology also allows each house to have a variety of outdoor spaces: a patio on the first floor, French balconies and a terrace on the intermediate levels and a roof garden.

These vertical units are accessed from a wide, high internal corridor, full of vegetation and open to the outdoors, thus avoiding stairs or public elevators in the complex. It is a meeting space in direct contact with the street through a large glazed facade and directly supervised by the doorman. Both the interior and exterior facades of the residential complex consist of a system of vertical brackets between which planters, railings and sunshades are placed to provide privacy and protect the interiors from the sun. These red corrugated sheet metal elements and the abundant vegetation generate kaleidoscopic urban courtyards of multiple levels, dimensions and perspectives.

Text provided by the architects.

La entrada CA22 se publicó primero en Global Spaces.

La Laguna is a former textile and yarn factory built in the 1920s in Mexico City’s Doctores neighborhood. The design involves the deteriorated factory’s recovery and enhancement into the vibrant complex that currently houses more than 25 motley creative and productive firms (including carpentry and textile workshops, coffee brewers, and ceramics studios, among others).

Although the historic building is not cataloged, the intervention project proposes to preserve the original exterior facades and focus on the interior courtyards that had accumulated a large amount of equipment, roofs, and annexes over time, losing its function as a spatial connector between the different areas of the complex. The reconversion strategy was designed to be implemented gradually, over the course of several years (more than ten years), and with a flexible group of tenants using the complex simultaneously.

La entrada La Laguna se publicó primero en Global Spaces.