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Architects: Wakasabi
- Year: 2018
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Manufacturers: Investwood, BLUDOT, Blum, Flos, Ilumiled, Verolegno, Viroc
Text description provided by the architects. Wakasabi arises as a fusion between Mexican and Japanese culture. Wabi-sabi refers to a Japanese aesthetic term that describes a type of vision based on the beauty of imperfection. In our work, this reference highlights the valuable patina of objects, where we allude to perfection within the imperfections caused by time; the ageing, the deterioration, the layers of time that form on the walls and that represent a different generation. Our office is located in the heart of Colonia Tabacalera in a building whose construction dates back to the arrival of the modernist movement in Mexico. It emphasizes those imperfections that tell us stories that correspond to the users who inhabited the space in the past.
We believe that each stain, each crack in a wall or object forms a timeline where a glimpse of the footprint is relieved of each generation that inhabited and later left the place. Therefore, we define our workspace as the preparation of a canvas, a place that has layers of paint, floors, and coatings represented by each generation. It is about removing instead of adding, rediscovering the walls to reveal the bare materials, so that when the light enters from the windows that overlook one of the most representative avenues of the city, it can highlight the imperfect reliefs of the different colours and textures. On the other hand, the added elements follow the same bare and natural line in order to frame complement our canvas with bare wood, textured concrete and clay lattices.
We highlight the importance of research and experimentation within a space that defines our way of thinking and that is based on theoretical and critical thinking when designing. That is why we create transparent and undivided workspaces, all in the same environment that reflects our philosophy based on integral design, making our processes a playful and fun environment.
