historic salon sociedad transformed into rustic resto-bar in monterrey

communal studio's 'salón sociedad' boasts 340 sqm of natural oak wood and locally sourced black marble in monterrey, mexico.

M. edited by lynn chaya June 13, 2017 2 min

multidisciplinary design firm ‘communal’ in collaboration with OTRA arquitectura complete their restoration of the historic ‘salón sociedad’ in monterrey, mexico. the city of monterrey is well known for housing big corporations and enterprises in which FEMSA and heineken méxico, formerly known as cervecería cuauhtémoc-moctezuma, set themselves apart. these companies play an active role in supporting the city and community.

historic salon sociedad transformed into rustic resto-bar in monterrey - 1
the bar uses locally sourced black marble

communal architecture aims to preserve the legacy of its founding companies by maintaining the coexistence among its employees. the firm keeps the company’s iconic motifs and materials, aiming to create a vivid and warm space that recalls the heritage of their founding corporations. by using long chained tables, the designers intentionally create a more familiar bound between employees.

historic salon sociedad transformed into rustic resto-bar in monterrey - 2
the ‘mesas carta blanca’ is a table made by cervecería

historic salon sociedad transformed into rustic resto-bar in monterrey - 3
scissor doors separate the two main halls

historic salon sociedad transformed into rustic resto-bar in monterrey - 4
large windows let natural light bring life to textures and materials

historic salon sociedad transformed into rustic resto-bar in monterrey - 5
natural light reflects the oak wood textures on the tables and chairs

historic salon sociedad transformed into rustic resto-bar in monterrey - 6
the materials and textures used for the project represent the old industrial monterrey

historic salon sociedad transformed into rustic resto-bar in monterrey - 7
the ‘malinche chair’ is an iconic chair made in monterrey by muebles malinche, made popular by cervecería cuauhtémoc

historic salon sociedad transformed into rustic resto-bar in monterrey - 8
employees spend their free time between shifts in the old hall
image © eugenio espino barros (1944) monterrey, nuevo león
colección FEMSA

historic salon sociedad transformed into rustic resto-bar in monterrey - 9
long chained tables gather FEMSA employees in the old hall
image © alberto flores varela (1945) monterrey, nuevo león
CONARTE

historic salon sociedad transformed into rustic resto-bar in monterrey - 10
preliminary plan of ‘salon sociedad’

project info:

architects: communal + otra arquitectura
photography: josé pablo villarreal, agustín landa ruiloba
external collaborators: marco polo pérez, luis brambilla, edder buentello
contractor: cassa construcciones
client: femsa, heineken méxico
location: monterrey nuevo león, méxico
area: 340 sqm
year: 2017

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.