A townhouse from the 1930s, situated in a quiet setting inside a shared courtyard right in the centre of Mexico City, is transformed into a family home. The house is vertically organised along three levels, each with a distinct character: functional service spaces on the ground level, family life on the upper level, and retreat to privacy on the roof garden level.
Project Title: Casa Verne Project Type: private residence
Location: Colonia Polanco, Ciudad de México
Architects: Zeller & Moye, Team: Ingrid Moye, Christoph Zeller, Omar G. Muñoz, Emma Woodward, Daniel Aguilar Zeller & Moye, Mexico / Berlin, www.zellermoye.com, info@zellermoye.com
Landscape:Entorno Taller de Paisaje
Contractor: Factor Eficiencia
Size: m(house: 335 m, garden: 125 m) Status: completed (February 2017) Date: Oct 2014 – Feb 2017
A derelict existing structure was freed from excessive internal walls to create generous living spaces. Patios and openings for roof lights were cut into the building to maximize daylight in the previously dimly lit lower levels.
A new floor was added to the top of the existing building by introducing a large overhang roof made of white concrete, providing shadow for the fully glazed interior spaces that benefit from softly moderated daylight. The new rooms are designed with minimal features to enhance the presence of the green roof garden. Full height sliding glass screens all across the top floor open up panoramic views into the rich greenery giving the impression of a secluded oasis within the buzzing city centre.
All new additions are realized in white marble concrete to achieve a contemporary environment with a fresh character. Besides the new roof the entire flooring is realized from cut marble pebbles in direct reference to Mexico City’s lost river beds and lakes that used to form the landscape before the city was established. Furthermore an in-situ concrete bench and table were cast into a niche within the garden. A new spiral stair connects the art deco lower floors with the contemporary garden level letting daylight pass down from roof lights above the stairs. Spaces within the existing structure were joined and revamped with new window openings, wooden flooring, a new fire place, built-in furniture and brass lamps specifically designed for the project.
Zeller & Moye
Zeller & Moye was founded by Christoph Zeller and Ingrid Moye as an architectural studio that operates with an interdisciplinary and global approach, with bases in Mexico City and Berlin. The studio established a unique working method of extensive experimentation for the development of a project in order to articulate meaningful proposals for the contemporary world. Zeller & Moye has designed a wide range of projects at all scales from furniture design to large cultural buildings in different parts of the world. Christoph Zeller and Ingrid Moye have been practicing architecture for more than 14 years including work for international practices SANAA in Tokyo and Herzog & de Meuron in Basel and London, leading numerous projects such as the ‘Tate Modern’ and the ‘Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2012’. Zeller & Moye has won numerous prizes such as the Fonca/Conaculta Arts Council Award in Mexico, a grant by the Akademie der Künste Berlin, Germany and were recently awarded first prizes in architectural competitions in Berlin, Germany and in Riuchang, China. The studio is currently realising a memorial in Kurdistan, Iraq; a low-energy housing project in China; a design museum, two contemporary art galleries and a series of residential projects in Mexico; amongst others.
Christoph Zeller and Ingrid Moye teach at the AA (Architectural Association) Visiting Schools in Berlin and Mexico, a master class in urban studies at the UIA Mexico City and have been jury members, lecturers and guest critics at various universities.
