Productora

Rooftop Prim

Rooftop Prim
© Onnis Luque

Rooftop Prim

Productora

ARCHITECTS
Productora

CATEGORY
Installation, Adaptive Reuse

AREA
870 m²

LOCATION
Mexico CIty, Mexico

PHOTOGRAPHS
Onnis Luque

COLLABORATORS
Ruy Berumen, Diego Velázquez, Emiliano Rode

YEAR
2020

LEAD ARCHITECTS
Carlos Bedoya, Wonne Ickx, Abel Perles, Víctor Jaime

CLIENT
Proyecto Público Prim

The project is located on the rooftop of an early twentieth-century palace where cultural and festive events are held, in the center of Mexico City.

Rooftop Prim
© Onnis Luque
Rooftop Prim
© Onnis Luque

In order to prevent the occasional rains to interrupt the activities organized in the courtyards, the owner of the property requested to cover the three existing patios.

Instead of making three independent interventions, we generated one single proposal: a continuous roof structure, measuring more than 50 meters in length, connecting the patios in a straight line, and generating new covered surfaces in between the patios.

Rooftop Prim
© Onnis Luque
Rooftop Prim
© Onnis Luque
Rooftop Prim
© Onnis Luque

The structure consists of 45 lightweight metal trusses, each 1.2 m apart, dividing the weight evenly over the existing construction and accentuating rhythm and perspective along the roof.

The triangular roof section is designed asymmetrically so that one side could incorporate a covered circulation.

Rooftop Prim
© Onnis Luque
Rooftop Prim
© Onnis Luque
Rooftop Prim
© Onnis Luque
Rooftop Prim
© Onnis Luque

Light and industrialized synthetic materials such as the PVC deck, polycarbonate sheets, or the railings made of nylon nets, seek to reduce the weight of the construction and generate a strong contrast with the materiality of the historic building.

Rooftop Prim
© Onnis Luque
Rooftop Prim
© Onnis Luque

Two different types of polycarbonate were used (translucent and transparent), to filter the sunlight, while allowing to see the sky from the courtyards.

Additionally, textile screens (borrowed from the agricultural industry) are integrated into specific places to mitigate solar incidence.

Rooftop Prim
© Onnis Luque
Rooftop Prim
© Onnis Luque

The geometric rhythm of the structure is complemented by another series of elements such as the planters that overflow the patios and delimit the new terraces or the light fixtures that highlight the intervention in the city's skyline.

As an alternative to demolishing historic - but often not registered – buildings in Mexico City, this project shows how valuable structures can be re-used and adapted in an intelligent way when the financing for a full-scale restoration is not (or not yet available).

It explores the esthetic quality of the building “as found “– and enhances that experience by contrasting it with a contemporary intervention.

Rooftop Prim
© Onnis Luque


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Productora
T +52 55 30927746
Productora
C. Dr. Lucio 181, Doctores, Cuauhtémoc, 06720 Ciudad de México, CDMX, Mexico