LIVUNO is a apartment building located in a corner area of the Colonia Juarez zone, close to the historic center of Mexico City. This is a representative area of the Mexico of the 50´s, whit its porfirian architecture, magnificent and elegant mansions. Because of the real estate boom at Paseo de la Reforma, the city planning authorities have encouraged the regeneration of this urban part of the City.
The building program consists of 24 residential units offering three kinds of accommodation: apartments of varied sizes, townhouses and penthouses. The Townhouses have small private gardens at the back with large sliding windows from floor-to-ceiling, to integrate interior-exterior. The Apartments have been designed with open layouts, permitting alternative usage and flexibility, range from 1 to 2 bedrooms, with balconies that generates different perspective towards the street. And the Penthouses with private gardens and roof terrace have 3 bedrooms in three levels, ideal for a complete family to live in.
The parking area at the base rise the building towards the sidewalk to give privacy and exclusivity, the white concrete basement with random perforations allows ventilating and illuminating naturally. The mirror polished aluminum door, framing the entrance lobby for the condominiums, a narrow ramp, doubled-height, sits between the townhouses and the apartments volumes, connecting the street with the elevator and escalator hallway.
The structure of the building is pushed to the exterior and follows the grid of the large floor-to-ceiling window bays. Introducing a depth to the façade on the exterior and liberates the interior from freestanding columns. The designed is orientated to the south and daylight penetrates deep into the building to reduce the dependence of artificial light. All units are naturally cross-ventilated through its folding windows.
Exposing the white concrete structure with the verticality of its white concrete block plates. Using the same base palette of blocks and blockwork in a radical new way, we create a brick screen with perforations. Façade, structure and space form an integrated whole.
In the interior, the design of the units exposes the texture and natural color of its materials, to generate an atmosphere with a natural expression. The separation of dry and wet areas and the selection of wood and granite as the finish for each emphasize and enhance the specific use.
The Roof Garden with its fine green areas, offers to the users a place of encounter and coexistence. A new conception of the opened space, allows offering spaces of rest, recreation and community. The front green roofs of 300 m2, helps reduce the urban heat island effect ass well to capture the rainwater for its reuse.
