What was once a dilapidated Art Deco house in Mexico City has been transformed into Arco Compañía Cultural: a hybrid showroom and studio that is home to Worc architects and furniture designers Veta – not to mention events, workshops, exhibitions and some brilliant house parties
On the corner of a tree-lined street of Neocolonial and Art Deco houses in Mexico City’s San Miguel Chapultepec neighbourhood, close to the Bosque de Chapultepec park and Luis Barragán’s and modernist Casa Gilardi, one 1930s house has emerged from dilapidation, rediscovered its spirit, and stepped up to a new purpose. Arco is the new home of two like-minded studios – Worc architects and furniture designers Veta – who together have established a hybrid workspace and showroom where collaborative happenings play out amid domestic warmth and layers of architectural history.
The house has not always been so full of life. Unloved by previous owners, “its deterioration was deep and complex”, admits architect Camila Ureña, a co-director of Worc alongside Ricardo Martínez. Vinyl safety strips were peeling off the granite floors and wooden floorboards had been covered with white tiles in the 1980s. The new owners sensitively approached each material to restore it, with the cedarwood carpentry being the greatest challenge: “It was artisanal work – not only in eliminating the layers of damage, paint and neglect, but also in staying true to each silhouette originally carved by master craftsmen,” she says.
Now the materials can breathe again, and the delicate ironwork and ceramic detailing of the façade shine once more. “The deepest ambition of the project was to be faithful to what the house originally expressed,” says Martínez.
It is an attitude to architectural intervention that has become Worc’s area of expertise. “Today it is imperative,” explains Ureña. “Memory is destiny. It is identity. It is culture. We pursue the conservation not only of the oldest spaces, but of all of them, because we are determined to revalue the roots of our current situation and understand the validity of ideas, always contrasting them against time.”
Though its purpose has evolved, Arco is still full of domestic warmth, woven with new materials that match its aesthetic – pink Michoacan quarry tiles clad the central chimney, handmade clay tiles from Metepec heal the damaged roof, Cumaru wood decks from Veracruz level the outdoor spaces. Many of the functions remain domestic too – the ground-floor showroom hosts a kitchen, bedroom and intimate patio. In the former living room, a timber backdrop sets a contemporary stage for the organic simplicity of Veta’s modern wood furniture, which is set below walls textured with traces of the past – a design language that continues in the kitchen.
Similarly to Worc, Mexico City-based wood furniture manufacturer Veta was founded by Celeste Medina and Rodrigo Mendoza on the philosophy of learning from the past to inform the present. They’ve drawn on the modernist carpentry traditions of 20th-century Mexico, which re-emerge from Veta’s local factory strengthened by the knowledge of today’s technology and sustainability. In 2012, Veta launched a successful e-commerce platform and shifted to online-only sales, so the new showroom has offered a unique opportunity for tactile storytelling through limited editions, prototypes and popular products.
“It’s a functional connection with our audience,” says Medina. “People are able to test our products and meet our design team. It’s a warmer, more personal experience that is taking our brand to the next level.” Pieces such as the Piano modular sofa, Koi dining chairs and Maíz credenza, all made with FSC American hardwoods including white and red oak, walnut and ash, provide inviting anchors to the showroom’s activities. In the living room, the Cala modular shelving system shows off its multi-purpose strengths as a library, coffee station and display space: “We maximised this piece so people can connect to different functionalities through the options it offers.”
Upstairs on the first level, the mood continues in the offices for the two studios, with textured architectural details, wood furniture and soft yet generous lighting. On the second floor, a versatile meeting space with a lush terrace offers a retreat from work and the city beyond.
For Worc, an office is not just about tools and focus. While it should be calm and ordered, it should also have “gentle, deep textures and pleasant visuals to constantly promote the flow of ideas and collaboration, and to keep the space vibrant,” says Martínez. “We have the firm belief that walls hear feelings, and that is how they tell stories. That is why we seek to express happiness with every project.”
Together, its owners see Arco as an incentive for creativity and positivity. So far, it’s proving effective – there have been art exhibitions, photography shoots, conferences, workshops and astings – and, of course, excellent house parties. “On opening night, we gathered with friends, artists, designers and creatives, sharing a joyful feeling of having conquered one more space in the city that expresses what we want to say,” says Ureña.
As well as being a new home, Arco is a contribution to Mexico City and its community. “The value of the architect is not only about conceiving the space, but also about transforming it,” she adds. Together, the house’s new inhabitants have not only rediscovered its spirit, they’re also transforming its energy.
Images by Zaickz Moz
