Architecture studio Javier Senosiain Arquitectos has created a wood-lined office space in Mexico City informed by an “animal shelter” and other cave-like spaces.
The 202-square-metre office is designed to be “human-friendly” and consists of several cave-like main rooms linked by curving corridors.
It serves as the Mexico City office of Javier Senosiain Arquitectos, an architect and office designer known for his organic architecture.
“Main idea [was] To achieve spaces suitable for the human body: similar to [the] “The monastery of mothers, the animal shelter, the underground caves, the igloo – not a return to time but a contemplative reconciliation,” said Javier Sinosian, founder of Javier Sinosian.
The space is spread over one level of a wedge-shaped shared office building and has a balcony on one side.
Visitors enter through the main door, which opens into a waiting area with a reception desk that leads to a curved hallway.
This main hall branches into a large work area containing two large desks overlooking the balcony. On the other side, the main hall leads to a small kitchen, materials library and two closed offices.
The larger office has a circular meeting area with curved seating. Behind it is another curvilinear desk and a wall of floor-to-ceiling windows.
“Every work is completely different” in organic engineering, says Javier Sinocíaín
Each space is surrounded by curved overhanging ceilings and walls clad in a marble-like maple rootstock veneer, which is also used for the flooring.
Organically shaped columns, shelves and light pendants are distributed throughout the space, while ground-level lighting extends along the perimeter.
The space was previously a “rectangular prism,” which the studio transformed by creating a wooden frame in the space and then covering it with “thin strands of wood.”
According to the studio, the use of wood versus prefabricated or synthetic materials reduced the project’s environmental impact.
The studio said: “The project is made of wood in its structure and finish; this wood bears witness to the planning and legal cutting of trees.”
“With this in mind, it also ensures a lower environmental impact, compared to the energy and resources used for finished materials.”
Leather was used to cover desks and other surfaces to create a “soft” workspace.
“[Living] “Working together in the workshop is like working in a warm, lit cave, with stimulating sensations that change from place to place, and the interplay of lights that change throughout the day,” the studio said.
This project has been shortlisted in the Workplace Interior Design category of the Dezeen Awards 2024. Other shortlisted projects in this category include the Land Over Water Office from Firm Architects and the Link Lab Creative Offices from Stay Studio.
Recently, Latvian photographer Anna Dave released images of her studio’s snake-shaped apartment complex outside Mexico City.
Photograph courtesy of Javier Senosiain Arquitectos unless otherwise stated
