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
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 façade 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 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.
