Dezeen Magazine

203 Masaryk Offices

Mexico City office interior features wealth of gold accents and marble

Álvaro Hernández Félix Studio has given these offices for a financial services firm a "very mid-sixties modern Mexican style", using curved window corners, marble furniture and gold surfaces.

Located in Mexico City's upscale neighbourhood of Polanco, the offices occupy the penthouse floor of 203 Masaryk.

Álvaro Hernández Félix Studio 203 Masaryk offices
The penthouse office space at 203 Masaryk is home to a financial services firm

Local firm Álvaro Hernández Félix Studio was tasked with renovating the 350-square-metre interior, which accommodates four private offices, an open-concept work area, three conference rooms and a kitchenette.

Visitors enter into the lobby directly from the elevator, in a space that the studio says has "a retro vibe" reminiscent of a "very mid-sixties modern Mexican style".

Álvaro Hernández Félix Studio added marble accents to the design
Marble furniture and travertine floors feature in the interiors by Álvaro Hernández Félix Studio

"Metallic walls in a golden tone complement the scene, where a striped travertine marble desk, is framed by plants and crowned by three spheric lamps, that make us travel to the past, without losing our awareness for the present," the firm said.

One side leads to the private director's office and an adjacent conference room, through massive golden doors that are meant to evoke a bank vault. These both face south, and enjoy access to a terrace that runs along the width of the building.

Dark surfaces are contrasted with shiny gold accents

Dark wooden battens line the walls of the director's suite and conference room, contrasting the light marble flooring that runs through the entire space.

At the opposite end of the lobby, a sliding glass door with a patterned surface leads to the main work area: an open-concept workspace for the majority of the company's employees.

This area is bookended by three private offices to one side, and two conference rooms separated by an operable partition on the other.

These can be combined into a single space for larger meetings when needed.

Álvaro Hernández Félix Studio 203 Masaryk offices
Álvaro Hernández Félix Studio also designed the furniture for the project

Álvaro Hernández Félix Studio used lighter finishes here, including pale marble desks, along with more gold accents and plenty of plants. The studio took on the architectural scope, and also designed the furniture.

"Lighting achieves a cosy and domestic feel, ambient oriented but very punctual where it is needed, creating contrasts and shadows, because of the smart selection of materials and the visual effects that can be done with its textures," the team explained.

The offices are in Mexico City
The director's office has access to an outdoor space

Other office projects in Mexico City include a law firm by local architects Esrawe Studio that features stadium seating and a wall covered in the firm's books, as well as Esrawe's own offices, which are within a repurposed dancehall and were left with an "honest, industrial aesthetic".

The photography is by Onnis Luque.


Project credits:

Design team: Álvaro Hernández Félix, Pedro Sánchez Morales
Furniture design: Álvaro H Félix Studio

More images and plans

Floor plan
Floor plan
Álvaro Hernández Félix Studio 203 Masaryk offices
Álvaro Hernández Félix Studio 203 Masaryk offices
Álvaro Hernández Félix Studio 203 Masaryk offices
Álvaro Hernández Félix Studio 203 Masaryk offices
Álvaro Hernández Félix Studio 203 Masaryk offices
Álvaro Hernández Félix Studio 203 Masaryk offices
Álvaro Hernández Félix Studio 203 Masaryk offices
Álvaro Hernández Félix Studio 203 Masaryk offices