Aurora

Inspired by the relatively temperate climate in Mexico City, Aurora, a new eight-story commercial office building, plays with the relationship between the inside and outside, seeking to create a dynamic space in between. Rather than having exposed balconies, a monolithic façade has been carefully sculpted creating a semi-permeable surface. Located just outside the controlled office environment, these interstitial areas use light to shape the experience of the architecture and create a new kind of amenity.

Located in a busy mid- to low-rise neighborhood, the building’s long and narrow site–12.73m wide by 26m deep–created challenges for the parking plan (which includes two subterranean levels), pushing the core of the building to the northwest corner of the site; this in turn dictated the location of the entry tunnel and access off the street. Simultaneously, the flatness and solidity of the existing streetscape led us to carve an entryway that draws people in off the narrow sidewalk. Appearing to defy the weight of the precast concrete panels of the façade above, a curve cut was introduced to the design. This gesture is echoed above in a series of cuts focused toward a view of the mountains beyond; their variation ensures a unique experience on every floor–from day to night and through the seasons, activating the senses: at times, the fresh smell of plants waft inwards, other times the sound of the breeze, vistas are framed, and an unexpected ambience created by the two-story lightwell lined with a green wall at the top. Each of these cuts maintains the overall balanced proportion of the north façade and together, they present a volume that is both inside and outside–a dynamic re-interpretation of office space.

Status: On the Boards

Project Type: Low Rise Commercial Office; Building Type: New Construction

Size: 2,450sqm

Location: Mexico City, Mexico

Partners: Hagy Belzberg, Brock DeSmit

Project Team: Mingyue Hu

Awards:
2019 Interior Design magazine Best of Year Awards, On The Boards: Commercial
2019 The Architect's Newspaper Best of Design Awards, Unbuilt Commercial Winner
2019 AIA LA Next LA Awards, Merit