This weekend retreat is projected on a land of little over 1,000 square meters and it is articulated in two main volumes: a prism into which another rectangular wooden prism is embedded. Since the very beginning, the purpose of this project was clear: to create a house in which a balance between modernity and coziness was struck. Therefore, we chose to use few materials in order to achieve a quick reading of the volumes.

For Baumgartner it is important to create spaces with sustainable technology that improve the environment, according to the essence, values, characteristics and needs of the project. Baumgartner reflects, “Architecture can be a tool to improve society”. That is why, in order to fully understand the organization he has developed with his own methodologies that empathically help understand the entrails of the company, helping to align strategies, providing architecture solutions that enhance organizational productivity and efficiency, inspiration and happiness of the individual.

SPACE was founded in Chicago by Juan Carlos Baumgartner, a Mexican architect, and Jean Bellas, an American architect, just over 10 years ago. It is an international architecture firm with more than 15 offices around the world. Since its inception, SPACE has been a firm committed to the environment and to sustainable architecture. It has carried out sustainable projects with LEED Certification (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), an international certification responsible for the validation and endorsement of architecture projects that comply with higher standards and sustainable practices, both in the United States and in Mexico. Due to the firm’s growth, SPACE faced the need to relocate their offices, which raised a unique opportunity: time had come to show the firm’s commitment to sustainable architecture. So it designed one of the first office spaces in Latin America with LEED C1 certification, certification geared to interior spaces. In this way, SPACE Mexico is the first architecture firm in Latin America with a certified office. The challenge was not an easy one; the intention was to generate a project with certification to demonstrate the viability of its use in Mexico’s market with not necessarily higher cost or more time to carry out. The conceptual approach of the project was simple and complex at the same time. It was not possible for us to apply the rules, both esthetic and functional, to which we are used. It was time to rethink new rules and seek a new esthetic, that is to say, a green esthetic. From the beginning, a leading idea showed us the correct way: to base on the three “Rs” underlying any green architecture: Reducing, Recycling, Reutilizing.