Bloqe Architectura designs Mariano Azuela 194 apartment block after Mexico City manor houses

Local studio Bloqe Architectura created a four-bay apartment complex with a series of barrel-vaulted spaces that open up to rooftop gardens overlooking Mexico City.

Known as Mariano Azuela 194, the narrow building sits in a mid-block infill site in the historic neighbourhood of Santa María, which is characterised by late 19th and early 20th-century architecture.

"The architectural vocabulary of its large manor houses – their openings, proportions and canopies – led us to design a neutral, timeless element that could enter into dialogue with its context," Bloqe Architectura told Dezeen.

"At the same time, we wanted the project to evoke quiet and retreat toward the interior through a sequence of patios."

Vertical windows and a dark-coloured garage door mark the narrow, street-facing facade, with upper balconies set behind large concrete dividers in a sand-coloured finish.

Behind the facade, the four-story project is organised into four compact blocks, separated by three interstitial patios and each topped with a barrel vault that runs parallel to the street.

Two rounded staircases separate the first and fourth bay, providing access to each of the apartments via latticed vertical circulation. One of the vaulted spaces contains a spiral staircase that cascades in green metal to the apartment below.

Crafted with locally sourced materials and artisanal techniques, the project maintains a natural-toned colour palette with earthen wall finishes, handmade bricks and domestic marbles.

The materials work "in harmony with the character and richness of traditional Mexican architecture," the studio said.

Bloqe Architectura called out the barrel vaults as the greatest challenge during the project's construction, wiht each requiring special arch-shaped formwork to create the thin concrete shell.

One side of each barrel ends in a wooden storage wall that conceals a small bathroom, while the other opens through an arch glazing wall to a large square terrace.

The rooftop terraces open to the cityscape with an urban atmosphere, while the interstitial patios on the ground level are quieter, private spaces.

The vegetated spaces serve as mediators between the interior and exterior, while also providing passive lighting and ventilation throughout the building.

"We believe it's important to create architecture with a timeless language expressed through natural materials, the use of natural light and traditional elements such as lattice screens, courtyards, handmade brick and precise geometries," the studio said.

"The architectural language of the project responds to the urban complexity of the site, which led us to create a historical continuity in the façade and an urban continuity through the barrel vaults in the roof gardens, resulting in spaces to contemplate the urban context."

The earth tones, embedded garden strategies and breezy staircases of Bloqe Architectura's design appear in other recently completed Mexico City apartment complexes, such as a timber apartment building with a "vertical garden" and a rounded triangular tower, both by CRB Arquitectos.

The photography is by Andrés Cedillo.

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