ROW studio: recent projects

ROW studio, is an architecture and design firm based in mexico city. it was founded by alvaro hernández felix and alfonso maldonado ochoa in 2005 who were joined a year later by partner nadia hernández félix. the studio sent us some of their recent projects.

bosque esmeralda, october 2008 proposal for the redesign of the facade of a shopping center already under construction located on jimenez cantu avenue in zona esmeralda on the northwest of mexico city. row’s design consisted of a metallic façade superposed to the concrete structure of the building that created grand irregular volumes that went from bigger to lower roughness along the length of the façade. metallic plaques gave shape to the volume and adapted to the different uses of the shopping mall.

on the parking level they would be perforated to allow natural light and ventilation to the interior, on the stores they would be solid and with a bright coating on their outer face and on restaurants and circulations they would be substituted with glass to show the views to the forests, hills and mountains of the surroundings.

since the shopping center was being built on top of a 98 foot (30 meters) tall platform our design included the creation of a green wall covering the containment wall of the base and throughout the full length of the access ramp thus helping the structure mimic with its surroundings.

espacio C mixcoac, july 2009 espacio C is a coca-cola training facility located at the mixcoac distribution center on the southwestern area of mexico city. it includes three separate rooms that can be joined together for common activities, a mediateque, snacks bar, souvenir store, data and electrical connections and storage space. espacio C has two small rooms with a capacity for 8 persons each that can be used for teamwork, brainstorming, as reading rooms or for informal meetings and a large main hall that can be used for formal training sessions, lectures and presentations.

the three rooms follow a concentric layout around a multifunctional fixed module. these spaces are surrounded by a wall that acts as a sound and visual barrier, isolating the training facility from the city and the rest of the areas of the plant. the wall was thought as a continuous surface on its outer side that folds to the floor and ceiling, which is covered in coca cola red epoxy paint coating and the floor is finished with a high resistance acrylic finish.

graphics on the exterior create a composition based on the coca cola logo formed by a continuous wave of bubbles, animals and plants. interior walls are covered with a special anti graffiti coating that turns the full surface of the wall into a dry erase board and at the same time encapsulates the vinyl graphics protecting them from damage.

plan view of espacio C

superama tecamachalco, september 2009 proposal for the redesign of the facades of their superama store located in the tecamachalco suburb in mexico city. the design features a repetitive pattern of flowers made of large ceramic tiles in 7 different colors that wraps around the building. a low cost solution that has an good durability and low maintenance. the colorful mosaicwould give visibility to the building from the surrounding streets and make a statement of complete renewal of the store. access to an underground mall is also created replacing an existing structure. the rooftop of the new access folds from the end of the building on to the main entrance of the supermarket. the ceiling is made of translucentorange panels while the facades are made of curved clear glass with the logo of superama printed on them.

more info on these projects can be found at the ROW studio website.