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Architects: Arquitectura Mixta
- Area: 593 m²
- Year: 2023
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Photographs:Pacha Mother / Adrian Hernandez
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Manufacturers: ETFE Films, Galápagos, Grasshopper, Ladybug, Parakeet, Python C, Rhinoceros 3D
Text description provided by the architects. The structures developed by Arquitectura Mixta for the "Impression Isla Mujeres By Secrets" hotel are inspired by the unique natural and geographical context of the project. The hotel, located on the southern tip of Isla Mujeres, Mexico, near the Garrafon Natural Reef Park, offers panoramic views of the Caribbean Sea on both sides of the project and is one of the only places in Mexico where sunsets over this sea can be appreciated.
The 4 Bamboo structures designed by Arquitectura Mixta celebrate the vibrant colors of the Mexican Caribbean as well as the lush life that it harbors. Despite their differences in shape and scale, the structures create a dialogue between them, making them part of a single concept and a single family, achieved thanks to their undulating roofs, transparencies, fabrics, and the play of light and wind when interacting with them.
The intervention by Arquitectura Mixta for the hotel consists of 4 structures with different purposes. On the Hotel Rooftop, a structure called Ola was created, which, as its name indicates, alludes to the waves of the sea. The DJ booth was also created, a small bamboo cover with columns in the shape of corals.
On level 0 of the hotel, when leaving the main pool, you will find the Wet Bar, and behind it, the Templo, the main structure of the project. The Templo, the main structure of the project, was inspired by the Mexican Sea Slug (cyphoma gibbosum), which inhabits the warm waters of the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico.
This creature with its undulating shapes and lush patterns was interpreted as an imposing structure with 12-meter high catenary arches that support undulating layers of bamboo fabrics that hide inside a bamboo mobile system that, when moved by the wind, creates harmonic sounds that originate from the highest part of the structure. The Bio-Parametric style structures for this project were designed using complex computational processes and the development of specific computational algorithms.
One example of this technology is the use of Python, a programming language commonly used for software and the web. This language was used by Arquitectura Mixta to develop mathematical curves used to create the undulations in the roofs that refer to the waves of the sea. Subsequently, environmental analysis algorithms were used to adapt the shapes and efficiency of the structures to rain and solar radiation, guaranteeing the comfort and behavior of the structures in different climatic situations.
By using Galapagos, a tool that works with genetic optimization algorithms, the design of the structures was optimized, identifying the most efficient support points. Some of these processes and technologies are used by architects worldwide who work with conventional construction systems such as concrete and metal; however, this is the first time in the world that these technologies have been applied in bioconstruction.
