Threads

Threads is the first of a series of low-rise commercial office buildings that is transforming the Cuauhtémoc neighborhood in Mexico City. Located just north of a major artery, Paseo de la Reforma, near the historic city center, Threads has an exterior aesthetic that entangles itself with its atypical interior layout. Using a multi-layered façade of glass and sinuous metal ribbons, the project develops a distinct architectural language that is both progressive in its commercial function and seeks to engage the surrounding community.

Threads differentiates itself from typical office design by first pushing the utility core to a single edge of the building rather than locating it at the center. This maximizes the preferred views from the site and leaves the 4,350sqft floor plate open to flexible configurations for tenants of the six-story development. The project also includes two levels of parking below the offices and features an accessible roof deck.

The most prominent feature of the building is a series of triangular, aluminum ‘fins’ that undulate in and out of the building, visually penetrating the glass curtain wall. The weather-resistant fins create a porous envelope which encloses balconies on the exterior and while creating informal common areas at certain points along the perimeter of the interior. The building’s glazing has a low-E coating to reduce heat gain, and two layers of gray PVB to reduce glare and minimize color shift. Operable windows are also strategically positioned to optimize ventilation across each floor. This link between the internal experience and the visual presence of the building from the street fosters a positive reciprocal relationship between the building and the community to which it belongs.

Status: Completed 2016

Project Type: Low Rise Commercial Office; Building Type: New Construction

Size: 44,000 sf / 4,100sqm

Location: Mexico City, Mexico

Partners: Hagy Belzberg, Brock DeSmit, Cory Taylor

Project Team: Kristofer Leese, Ashley Coon, Elizabeth Lee, Annie Mak

Publications:
Interior Design magazine (USA); Facade Tectonics World Congress: Conference Proceedings (USA)