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      Simon Hamui creates clean-lined furniture for minimalist Mexico City house

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      Mexican design firm Simon Hamui has created bespoke furnishings for a moody and minimalist Mexico City home by Spanish practice Francesc Rifé Studio, using a tactile palette of eucalyptus wood, glass, quartzite, marble and brass.AdH House, which was completed last year, is a two-storey home in the residential neighbourhood of Lomas de Chapultepec and features a dark grey facade and black aluminium shutters across its two monolithic volumes.

      Top: a marble and glass coffee table centres the living room. Above: Simon Hamui created a series of built-in shelves for the home
      Simon Hamui was commissioned by the owners to create a number of custom furniture pieces that would complement and complete the work of Francesc Rife Studio, which saw the interior finished with cream coloured walls, natural stone and wood surfaces.
      “After working together in the past, [the clients] called on us to design and execute some of the key pieces of millwork and furniture throughout this house, as well as to help them curate and integrate their art collection with the millwork and interior,” explained Simon Hamui who founded his eponymous studio in 1991.
      “The house, which is a masterpiece of contemporary architecture by Francesc Rife, has very clean and minimalistic lines and we needed to strike a fine balance by complementing his architecture and integrating furnishings that amplified the owner’s lifestyle and personal partiality.”

      A quartzite lamp helps to prop up the glass tabletop

      In the living room, the firm created a custom coffee table and matching bench made from honed, grand antique marble and starphire glass — a brand of low-iron, high-clarity glass. It features sculptural solid brass legs and an integrated quartzite lamp, which also serves as a support for the tabletop.
      “To add an element of symmetry, we used the same quartzite featured on the coffee table for the adjacent bar mirrors and the aged brass on the bar’s base,” added Hamui.

      A slatted divider created privacy in the dining room
      A slatted screen divider in the dining room serves as an architectural element that divides the main hallway and living room from the dining room. Its aged brass frame encompasses smoked glass and thin wood slats that provide privacy in the dining room while still allowing light to filter through.
      On the dining room side, an aged eucalyptus wood console with a grey quartzite countertop and brass detailing is integrated into the room divider.

      Display cases in the wine cellar are lit by LED strips
      These same materials are mirrored in the dining table with its stone top and removable extensions made of smoked eucalyptus, that help to accommodate larger parties when needed.
      Sitting at either end of the table, the extensions can also be used as consoles for displaying decorative objects.

      A marble table in the cellar can be used for entertaining
      In the house’s glass-walled, temperature-controlled wine cellar, Hamui has installed rectangular wine display cases made from starphire glass. Bottles are stored on inset satin aluminium racks and lit by integrated LED lights.
      “These are designed to display the bottles in the purest way possible,” said Hamui. “The intentional positioning of the bottles creates a rhythmic and ornamental tapestry-like display that decorates the exterior space and draws people in.”
      The cellar also houses a Grigio Carnico marble table that can be used for hosting small gatherings.

      The wood-clad office was conceived in the wake of the pandemic
      The study was not part of the house’s original design but added by the clients after moving in as a direct response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
      Hamui conceived its interior as a functional wooden box, with ceiling and walls clad in eucalyptus and enhanced with micro-perforations and sound insulation to allow for greater privacy.

      The built-in shelves are by Simon Hamui and the chandelier by Jaime Tresserra
      Hamui also added a floor-to-ceiling bookcase lined with suede leather and brass details while an angular, stainless steel chandelier by Barcelona designer Jaime Tresserra hangs above the desk.
      In the family room, a large ​figured eucalyptus bookcase with brass bookstands and LED lighting is built into the wall behind the sofa, housing a textured Jason Martin painting as well as antique atlases. On the other side of the room, a millwork unit houses a TV and desk.

      A eucalyptus bookcase in the living room houses antique atlases
      Hamui’s Mexico City workshop specialises in the design and manufacture of furniture as well as comprehensive interior design projects for private residences, hotels, restaurants, yachts and art galleries.
      Last year, the studio also completed the millwork for a house with huge “beak-like” windows in New York’s Dutchess County, designed by US studio GRT Architects.
      Photography is by Victor Stonem.

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      Shaker-inspired rooms feature in Mexico City's Círculo Mexicano hotel

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      Architecture studio Ambrosi Etchegaray drew upon the pared-back design ethos of the Shakers to create the minimal rooms within this hotel in Mexico City.The Círculo Mexicano hotel is located downtown of Mexico City, taking over a 19th-century building that previously accommodated private residences.

      The hotel occupies a 19th-century building
      Ambrosi Etchegaray, which is led by architects Jorge Ambrosi and Gabriela Etchegaray, undertook the task of transforming it into a more hospitable space.

      The studio has left behind some time-worn elements that hint at how long the building has been around – for example, the dramatic zigzag staircase that links together all the levels of the hotel backs onto a wall of crumbling bricks.

      A zigzag staircase links together the hotel’s different floors
      However in the 25 bedrooms, which are spread across the building’s second and third floors, the studio has taken a much more contemporary, minimal approach.

      Ryo Kan hotel blends Mexican materials and Japanese traditions

      A key point of reference was the style of the Shakers: a Christian sect founded in 1747 that has become known for their ascetic lifestyles and equally austere approach to designing their living quarters and furniture, which were completely devoid of ornamentation.
      “Originally all the design process was inspired by an ecclesiastical aesthetics,” Ambrosi told Dezeen. “With that premise, we imagined an architecture free of ornament, where the correct use of simple materials enhances the quality of the space.”

      Rooms in the hotel have simple Shaker-inspired interiors
      “When we saw the first room partially finished, we decide to invite different designers to work on the essential elements for the space, lighting, desk, chair, etc,” Ambrosi continued.
      “We had some initial talks with studio La Metropolitana to design a chair for the room and they came back with a proposal to create a group of utilitarian elements that will become part of the room,” he added.
      “Their proposal was inspired in the Shakers – they understand the value of that movement as a community that developed a refined technique working with wood.”

      Some of the rooms boast barrel-vaulted ceilings
      Círculo Mexicano’s rooms are therefore host to just a few blocky plinths, which form side tables or support wooden storage cupboards. The largest plinth is used as a base for the rooms’ beds, which are covered with plain, beige-coloured linens with exposed seams.
      Surrounding surfaces are mostly painted white, but some rooms boast barrel-vaulted ceilings clad in red tiles.

      Beds are covered in beige-coloured linens
      Decor is provided by Shaker-style peg rails, where members of the sect would typically hang clothes, hats and light pieces of furniture when not in use. In the hotel rooms, these are used to suspend mirrors, trinket boxes and wooden chairs created by La Metropolitana.
      Some rooms will also include prints by revered Mexican photographer Manuel Álvarez Bravo, who was born in the hotel building back in 1902.

      Shaker-style peg rails provide decoration
      Most of the communal spaces are situated on the hotel’s rooftop, where there is a pool and a pop-up restaurant called ONA Le Toit that serves Mexican food with a French twist. The menu will change week to week as the chef’s take on different regional dishes.
      Guests can sit around the jet-black dining tables or on the more relaxed woven-back sofa seats while taking in views of notable Mexico City attractions such as the Metropolitan Cathedral and Templo Mayor.

      The hotel includes a rooftop restaurant and pool
      While beachy parts of Mexico like Tulum and Cancun have become holiday hotspots, many also flock to the capital for its rich culinary scene, architecture and annual design week.
      Other spots to stay in Mexico City include boutique hotel Ryo Kan, which takes aesthetic cues from Japanese culture, and Hotel Carlota, which features a lush central courtyard.
      Photography is by Sergio López courtesy of Grupo Habita.

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      Decada Muebles spotlights local craft inside Mexico's Escondido Oaxaca Hotel

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      Interiors studio Decada Muebles has filled this boutique hotel in Oaxaca City, Mexico with pieces made by the region’s artisans.A majority of the Escondido Oaxaca Hotel takes over a former family home that dates back to the 19th century.
      Inside are four of the hotel’s total 12 guest rooms – the last eight are located just beyond the house within a more contemporary concrete tower erected by architect Alberto Kalach.

      The Escondido Oaxaca Hotel lobby. Top image: a bedroom in the concrete tower
      This mixture of old and new influenced Decada Muebles’ design of the hotel, which has been almost exclusively decked out with pieces crafted by local craft makers.

      “We wanted to create a feeling of timelessness inside an authentic Oaxacan house, where the guests could feel the presence of a craftsman’s hand through their work in every nook and cranny,” the interior design studio told Dezeen.
      “With a mix of minimalism and clean lines in our furniture choices, and the lush landscaping and garden design, we aimed to maximize the possibility of relaxation and sense of serenity as the underlying state while at the hotel.”

      The hotel restaurant features green cement tiles
      Guests enter the hotel via the old house, walking through a spacious lobby that’s dotted with oversized terracotta plant pots.
      Red bricks run across the floor, while the walls are loosely rendered with stucco – faded patches of paint left behind from the house’s old fit-out are still visible.
      These rustic walls continue through into the restaurant, which serves up a menu of Mexican fusion food.

      The split-level culture room features stucco walls
      Local craftsmen have used Sabino, a Mexican wood, to make the tables and chairs that appear throughout the room. They complement a gridded timber shelving unit that openly displays liquor bottles and glassware.
      The floor here is clad with locally sourced green-cement tiles – the colour was specifically chosen in a subtle nod to Cantera, a green-hued volcanic rock that’s native to Oaxaca and used to build several of its buildings and roads.

      The concrete facade of the new tower
      When they’re not relaxing around the pool, which is up on the roof, guests can head to the split-level “culture room”.
      It includes a small library and a cosy sofa area decorated with earth-tone vases.

      Bedrooms feature sabino wood furniture
      Guest rooms in the old house and the concrete tower have been finished in the same material palette that’s been applied throughout Escondido Oaxaca Hotel’s communal spaces.

      Monte Uzulu is a boutique hotel in the Oaxacan jungle by Taller Lu’um and At-te

      Green-tinted cement tiles cover surfaces in the en-suite bathrooms and sabino wood has been used to create the rooms’ side tables, bed frames and shutters, which can be pushed back to reveal balconies or foliage-filled patios.
      Details like the woven palm leaf headboards were also custom made in Oaxaca.

      A bedroom opening onto a courtyard
      Escondido Oaxaca Hotel is longlisted in the hotel and short-stay category of this year’s Dezeen Awards.
      It will compete against the likes of Trunk House, a boutique hotel in Tokyo that includes a miniature disco, and Casa Palerm, a guest villa in Mallorca which is fronted by a huge cinema screen-like window.
      Photography is by Undine Pröhl.

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      Vidivixi turns “messy artist's studio” into Mexico City furniture showroom

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      Design studio Vidivixi has teamed its furniture collection with works by US artists and designers to create a series of moody sets in its Mexico City showroom. Vidivixi, which is led by British designer Adam Caplowe and American designer Mark Grattan, transformed a “messy artist’s studio” in the Colonia San Rafael neighbourhood to create its […] More

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      Esrawe Studio's Mexico City office has an “honest industrial aesthetic”

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      Weathered wooden trusses cover the office of Mexico City’s Esrawe Studio, led by designer Hector Esrawe, which takes over a former dance hall. Located in the city’s tree-lined Roma Norte neighbourhood, the 565-square-metre building includes a showroom for EWE Studio, which Esrawe runs with Spanish designer Manuel Bañó and Mexico City-based Estonian curator Age Salajõe. […] More

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      Arched terracotta volume tops Delfino Lozano's Guadalajara apartment complex

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      Mexican architect Delfino Lozano has turned a family home in Guadalajara into four apartments detailed with blue-painted beams and arched doorways. Lozano created four one-bedroom residences in a two-storey property located in the Santa Teresita neighbourhood of the Mexican city. The architect said he designed the complex, called House B836, to follow as much of […] More

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      Goko converts 1920s house in Mexico City into recording studio

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      Mexico City studio Goko has topped this music studio with a large “skyspace” to flood it with natural light. Goko renovated a house built in the 1920s to create Chapel Studio with space for recording, meetings, hosting parties and accommodating overnight guests. The studio, founded by Mexican architect Christopher Koehn, wanted the music studio to […] More