In Mexico City, Mexico, the design practice Esrawe Studio was founded in 2003 by Héctor Esrawe, who was born in 1968 in Mexico City.
He graduated from the Universidad Iberoamericana (UIA) with the title of Industrial Designer in 1992. Esrawe was a design professor at the Universidad Iberoamericana for four years and created the Industrial Design Degree in the CENTRO study house, where he was Design Director for three years.
Due to the growth of the company, the studio has moved multiple times, spending years in an adaptively reused old warehouse, which was unique in its typology and uncommon for the area. The spacious atelier allows the studio for further expansion, but in the meantime, it offers areas for experimental projects and displaying concepts.
In May 2019, the studio was moved to its new location in Roma Norte in Mexico City. Establishing its new workspace inside an old dancehall built around the 1950s. Roma is a vibrant neighborhood, with plenty of galleries and charming cafes, restaurants and plazas. [Note from Storm Cunningham: I know Roma well, and can attest to its charm!] Esrawe renovated the 600-square-meter property, stripping the space from excess material and exposing the beautiful wood structure that was hiding underneath the clutter.
Here’s what the folks at Esrawe Studio say about the process of repurposing and renewing their new home:
The character of the wood structure defines the expression of the studio. The open area consists of tables placed in a transversal position, where the different teams are integrated.
The existing metal of the ceiling was restored and painted in pale color, and skylights were added to bring in natural light. Concrete beams were built to restructure the ceiling and a natural cement finish was applied to the floor. The honest industrial aesthetic proved to be ideal for a creative atmosphere.
The space is covered on both sides with cork boards in order to display different projects in progress. In the furniture design area, walls are covered with rack-stands that hold experimental solutions and tests of different materials, like samples of stones, metal and wood as well as tools, prototypes and molds.
This allows us to build an archive of our past projects, our processes, our mockups and in the end, the memory and knowledge built along the years.
A space where architects, industrial, interior and graphic designers, renderists, engineers and administrators can interact and learn from each other, a space built to create, to promote lectures, projections and conferences, that encourages collaboration, multidiscipline and cross-pollination.
The studio comprises of an upper area, which consists of a terrace, a kitchen and a communal dining area, as well as a space for model making, filled up with material samples, mockups, full-size models, 3D printer and a laser cut machine.
All photographs are by Genevieve Lutkin.