TEN Arquitectos - Hotel Habita

TEN Arquitectos
Hotel Habita
Polanco, Mexico City

The architects converted a five-story 1950's apartment building, located on a commercial street lined with retail stores and office buildings, into a thirty-six room boutique hotel, with new services and amenities such as a swimming pool, gym, sauna, bar, and restaurant.

The old structure achieved a new identity because of its new wrapper, a frosted glass envelope composed of rectangular glass panels, which exists beyond the original facade. This “air buffer” not only controls heat gains, eliminating the need for heating and cooling systems, it also serves as an acoustical device and mediates the view while providing privacy. Sandwiched between the new and old facades are the original balconies and new corridors.

From a distance the new facade appears to be an expressionless mask but, at closer range, as a play of shadows appears, the shadowed walkways, balconies and guests become visible.
Small transparent bands are the new facade’s only adornment. These strategically small apertures provide each room choreographed views of the city beyond, framing the desirable and screening out the unsightly.

The rooms themselves look out onto two planes of floor-to-ceiling glass, the inner is transparent, the outermost, opaque. These planes are imbued with natural light all day and provide complete privacy. The decor of the rooms follow the austerity of the outer enclosure, as only a bed and a cantilevered plane of glass, which serves as both desk and table, occupy the space, everything else is concealed behind a polished panelled wall. This minimalist aesthetic enlarges the experience of the otherwise compact rooms.

The hotel has become a popular destination in the city and has transformed its surrounding area. The roof top pool, terrace, bar and lounge provide a public gathering space, and offer recovered views of the city.

At night, the entire building is transformed into a lantern with a changing checkerboard pattern of illumination, controlled by the room occupants.

Drawing courtesy TEN Arquitectos

Area (approx.): 2,500 square meters

Completed: 2000

Client:
Carlos Couturier, Moises Micha, Jaime Micha, Rafael Micha.
Hotel Habita

Architect:
TEN Arquitectos (Taller de Enrique Norten Arquitectos SC)
Project Team:
Enrique Norten
Bernardo Gómez-Pimienta
Aarón Hernández
Sergio Nuñez
Francisco Pardo
Julio Amezcua
Hugo Sánchez
Claudia Marquina
Carlos López
Martine Paquin
Adriana Díaz
Rubén Garnica
Miguel Ríos.

Photography: Luis Gordoa, Undina Prohl

Graphic Design: Ricardo Salas
Art: Jan Hendrix
Model: Miguel Ríos
Computer Model: Jean Michel Colonnier

May 24, 2004

Taller de Enrique Norten Arquitectos SC (TEN Arquitectos) arcspace features





				Features
		TEN Arquitectos Hotel Habita Polanco, Mexico City The architects converted a five-story 1950's apartment building, located on a commercial street lined with retail stores and office buildings, into a thirty-six room boutique hotel, with new services and amenities such as a swimming pool, gym, sauna, bar, and restaurant. The old structure achieved a new identity because of its new wrapper, a frosted glass envelope composed of rectangular glass panels, which exists beyond the original facade. This “air buffer” not only controls heat gains, eliminating the need for heating and cooling systems, it also serves as an acoustical device and mediates the view while providing privacy. Sandwiched between the new and old facades are the original balconies and new corridors. From a distance the new facade appears to be an expressionless mask but, at closer range, as a play of shadows appears, the shadowed walkways, balconies and guests become visible. Small transparent bands are the new facade’s only adornment. These strategically small apertures provide each room choreographed views of the city beyond, framing the desirable and screening out the unsightly. The rooms themselves look out onto two planes of floor-to-ceiling glass, the inner is transparent, the outermost, opaque. These planes are imbued with natural light all day and provide complete privacy. The decor of the rooms follow the austerity of the outer enclosure, as only a bed and a cantilevered plane of glass, which serves as both desk and table, occupy the space, everything else is concealed behind a polished panelled wall. This minimalist aesthetic enlarges the experience of the otherwise compact rooms. The hotel has become a popular destination in the city and has transformed its surrounding area. The roof top pool, terrace, bar and lounge provide a public gathering space, and offer recovered views of the city. At night, the entire building is transformed into a lantern with a changing checkerboard pattern of illumination, controlled by the room occupants. Drawing courtesy TEN Arquitectos Drawing courtesy TEN Arquitectos Drawing courtesy TEN Arquitectos Drawing courtesy TEN Arquitectos Drawing courtesy TEN Arquitectos Area (approx.): 2,500 square meters Completed: 2000 Client: Carlos Couturier, Moises Micha, Jaime Micha, Rafael Micha. Hotel Habita Architect: TEN Arquitectos (Taller de Enrique Norten Arquitectos SC) Project Team: Enrique Norten Bernardo Gómez-Pimienta Aarón Hernández Sergio Nuñez Francisco Pardo Julio Amezcua Hugo Sánchez Claudia Marquina Carlos López Martine Paquin Adriana Díaz Rubén Garnica Miguel Ríos. Photography: Luis Gordoa, Undina Prohl Graphic Design: Ricardo Salas Art: Jan Hendrix Model: Miguel Ríos Computer Model: Jean Michel Colonnier May 24, 2004 Taller de Enrique Norten Arquitectos SC (TEN Arquitectos) arcspace features