Materia, architectural design for Louis Vuitton in Mexico City.

Materia, architectural design for Louis Vuitton in Mexico City.

📅29 Marzo 2018, 11:54

Materia has been the architectural design firm for Louis Vuitton for more than 6 years on its Latin American projects.

Due to their geographic condition each new store held high importance because they became flagship stores in each of their respective countries. During these collaborations, we have been developing a brand identity in the architecture of their stores implementing the brand’s design standards

Materia architectural design for Louis Vuitton mexico city

The identity and tectonics of the architectural language of facades is 100% developed in the studio becoming more sophisticated, having subtle variants, but of great weight in the final result.

The partnership started 5 years ago with the wooden facade of LV Cancun, whose innovation was that of a 100% sustainable and durable wood used to withstand the adverse climate of the area. The material became a trademark within the facades to come and was used differently in each one. At the time it was the damier, the Vuitton grid.

Later we experimented with more kinesthetic facades to provide a change with the movement of people and light. That’s when we designed the flagship in Santiago de Chile, (where we started to develop the flower as a wooden panel on one side), as well as Panama in Soho Mall.

Louis Vuitton Masaryk Flagship takes advantage of the fact that the facades are consolidating as a symbol of the region. The twist for this store was to make the facade double sided. Not only as a decorative façade, but as an architectural element that can regulate the amount of light that enters the store.

The façade also creates a screen that provides privacy while at the same time introduces the exterior context (Presidente Masaryk the most important commercial avenue of Mexico City) to the shopping experience.

The concept was a continuous cloth with the same level of detail and sophistication that the brand and its products contain.

To achieve this, studies were made of solar radiation, thermal protection, natural lighting, and solar angle.

We were playing not only with the size and thickness of the panels, but also developed a particular and specific system for the structure that is drowned between the two wooden panels.
Materia architectural design for Louis Vuitton mexico city

The innovation is in the extremely light and simple structure containing enough flex for the city of Mexico that has threats of continuous earthquakes, and at the same time to be strong and hidden from sight.

Additionally, the interior double-height space allows visitors to experience the light that enters the façade as they travel within the store.

Some artists such as Adrian Guerrero and Hector Esrawe participated with unique pieces to integrate local references to a global design.

Design MATERIA Gustavo Carmona
Location  Mexico City
Area 650 sqm
Photos courtesy Jaime Navarro


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