Dezeen Magazine

CBG by Estudio MMX and Luis Campos

Estudio MMX and Luis Campos weave gardens into Betterware campus in Mexico

Ample daylight, worker ammenities and low-maintenance gardens feature in a large campus for a housewares company that was designed by Mexican architecture studios Estudio MMX and Luis Campos.

The project – referred to as Campus Betterware Guadalajara, or CBG – occupies a 7.5-hectare site in El Arenal, a town north of Guadalajara in the western state of Jalisco.

It serves as a key campus and distribution centre for Betterware, a household products company with international reach.

Campus Betterware Guadalajara surrounded by lush vegetation
Campus Betterware Guadalajara is located on a site in Mexico

Totalling 15,000 square metres, the campus encompasses administrative space and a series of warehouses for shipping, receiving, sorting and storage.

It also offers worker amenities such as a cafeteria, gym, leisure room, hairdresser, laundry facility, infirmary and children's nursery.

Red volumes with grey concrete elements on sunny site in Mexico
The team conceived nine individual buildings set within a garden landscape

Creating continuation between the different programmatic areas was a key concern for the design team – Mexico City's Estudio MMX and local architect Luis Campos.

"An important aspect that determined the configuration of the campus – and that is imperative for the optimum functioning of an industrial building of this type – is the horizontality and continuity between operative spaces," the team said.

Pathway linking the volumes at Betterware campus designed by Estudio MMX and Luis Campos
Pathways allow workers to cross the lush garden

The team conceived nine individual buildings set within a garden landscape, helping to ensure users have access to "high-quality spaces and experiences".

Pathways link the buildings and allow workers to cross the gardens.

Warehouses with large numbers delineating their spaces at crimson-red building for Betterware
Warehouses for shipping, receiving, sorting and storage feature throughout

Two of the buildings are elongated, rectangular bars that sit perpendicular to each other.

The other seven buildings are roughly square in plan, and they surround the bars in a staggered formation.

Reddish structural framing by Estudio MMX and Luis Campos at Betterware campus in Mexico
Structural framing is made from concrete and steel painted in a reddish hue

For structural framing, the team used concrete and steel painted in a reddish hue. Stretches of glass usher in natural light.

The language of the exterior continues indoors, where one finds voluminous spaces and exposed structural elements.

A number of elements that the team said contribute to sustainable design were incorporated into the campus.

A team that specializes in bioclimatic design helped conceive architectural solutions that are suitable for the site, including ways to incorporate passive ventilation and natural lighting.

Solar panels help supply energy to the facility. The campus also has its own water-treatment plant, which includes a rainwater harvesting system.

Voluminous space with exposed structural elements
Inside, one finds voluminous spaces and exposed structural elements

The landscape features plants that are low-maintenance and adapted to the local climate. "Dry rivers" were integrated into the site to channel rainwater toward the gardens and help water infiltrate the soil.

Other projects by Estudio MMX include a Yucatán geology museum that "consciously synthesizes" Mayan and contemporary architecture, and a Mexico City home that consists of towering volumes that step down a hillside.

The photography is by César Béjar.


Project credits:

Design: Estudio MMX and Luis Campos
Collaborators: Santiago Vázquez, Ana Nuño, Gerson Guizar, Lesly Noguerón, Gabriel González

More images and plans

Ground floor plan
Ground floor plan
Roof plan
Roof plan
CBG by Estudio MMX and Luis Campos
CBG by Estudio MMX and Luis Campos
CBG by Estudio MMX and Luis Campos
CBG by Estudio MMX and Luis Campos
CBG by Estudio MMX and Luis Campos
CBG by Estudio MMX and Luis Campos
CBG by Estudio MMX and Luis Campos
CBG by Estudio MMX and Luis Campos
CBG by Estudio MMX and Luis Campos
CBG by Estudio MMX and Luis Campos
CBG by Estudio MMX and Luis Campos