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Architects: Estudio Santa Rita
- Area: 1238 ft²
- Year: 2021
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Photographs:Sergio Ríos
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Manufacturers: Grohe, Cemex, Kimikolor, Solarica
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Lead Architect: Maricruz Alcalá López
Text description provided by the architects. Located in the first low-density residential neighborhood outside of Merida’s historical downtown area, MF Studios was designed on a section of a plot of land that had contained a house built in the 1930s. With this new use, the objective is to recover the habitability of an area from which more and more of the population decides to leave for newly developed areas in the city.
Based on the requirements of a couple that needs spaces to work which are destined for art and sewing, which are in fact different, yet have a certain similarity in some aspects. The studios are arranged on a plot of land with limited dimensions (5.00 x 31.50m) in proportion to a narrow front and an elongated depth when compared to the surroundings that have residential dimensions.
Principles.
- To take full advantage of natural lighting and wind.
- To optimize the use of all the spaces.
- To integrate the project into its built environment.
- To rationalize the use of funds.
- Form and space correlate and respond primarily to the function, the context, and surroundings.
- Use and integration of renewable energies as part of the physical appearance of the building.
Proposal. A linear composition of work spaces and facilities that are alternated and sequenced and adapt to the narrowness and length of the plot of land.
- To minimize general circulation areas, integrating them to the work spaces.
- To share facilities and open areas.
- To look for continuity with the characteristics of the built environment and respect the urban features of a “traditional” neighborhood that has a high environmental value, which is why it was decided:
To maintain the same distance that separates the street from the building as the rest of the buildings in the neighborhood do.
To respect the height limit of the buildings that are close by.
To preserve areas with trees and integrate them with the construction.
Formal Qualities.
- Bigger volumes (work spaces) with an orthogonal layout transform their rooftops into inclined slabs in the form of serrated teeth in order to receive direct sun light and the cool wind from the northeast.
- The angle to which the slabs are inclined corresponds to the optimal angle and orientation to the sun that is necessary to generate energy through the use of solar panels.
- Smaller compact volumes (facilities) intersect the composition with lively colors to indicate function and to create contrast.
- Linear and sequential organization alternating open and closed spaces in order to share the different use of spaces, achieve functional connections and integrate areas with vegetation that offer air and light to the interiors.
- The formal axes of composition coincide with the main circulation axes starting at the entrance and ending with the last open space, which is the “patio” for rest.
- Spaces with natural lighting to make the manual labor that is to be done there, easier.
- Textures and finishes on the façade that propitiate the creation of a natural patina that softens the geometric architectural shapes, protecting the openings with horizontal planes.
