Ambrosi Etchegaray rethink life inside this old house in Condessa, Mexico City, creating four new apartments behind the historic facade of the building, but left enough space for three intimate patios. Local heritage regulations prevented the architects from demolishing the original facade. But they saw this as an opportunity to develop a design that reinterprets the layout of the original building.
The project’s intention was to create interior spaces mimicking the original patios while mantaining privacy of these spaces from the other apartments. These patios allowed each apartment to be naturally lit and ventilated. Garden beds where also incorporated at the limits between the interior and the patios in order to incorporate the landscape within the architecture.
“This process helped us understand how to treat a valued heritage with awareness and care,” added Jorge Ambrosi and Gabriela Etchegaray. “The result is a juxtaposition of memory and urban development.”
all images © Rory Gardiner