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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 the fusion between Mexican and Japanese culture. Wabi-sabi refers to a Japanese aesthetic term that describes a type of aesthetic vision based on the beauty of imperfection. In our work, this reference highlights the valuable patina on 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 left that place. Therefore, we define our workspace as the preparation of a canvas; a place that had layers of paint, floors, and coatings represented by each generation; It is about removing instead of placing, rediscovering the walls to leave the bare materials and that, when the light from the windows that overlook one of the most representative avenues of the City enters, it can highlight the imperfect and mixed reliefs of the different colors and textures. On the other hand, the added elements follow the same line of being apparent and looking as natural as possible to frame and be a complement to our own canvas; bare woods, 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 and proposing. That is why we go to transparent and undivided work spaces, all in the same environment that reflects our philosophy based on integral design, making our processes a playful and fun environment.
