Located on the first floor of an old 18th Century House turn into Corporate offices of a clothing retail mexican company called “Almacenes García”, the courtyard that once had an out of use fountain, was instead treated as a quick “getaway” of the “day to day” work rush and transformed as a kind of “zen” hardscape garden.
The offices lack any proper outside windows, instead they all look at the courtyard. The client requested the space to be treated both as a “green garden” and as a flexible space that could easily be turn into a “multiuse” space.
The concept of the design was to “flip” the “horizontal garden” into a “vertical” one. Since the courtyard is 2 stories tall , the “vertical” garden is almost 12 meters high to also give a “green” view to the users above. The remaining “hard” floor was made out of granite and the floor cutting was specifically designed to subtly change in order to give the impression that there is almost a sense of playfulness and flexibility.
The planters and benches were also designed with the same principle. A “rough finished” steel plate is bended in a way that functions as the support for the bench using the same “playful” geometries of the floor design. All the benches and planters are different in size and easily movable, reinforcing the concept of individuality and flexibility.
Since the construction dated almost 150 years, The “rough finished” materials concept was also applied to the courtyard engaging walls, separating the 1st floor balcony with light in order to make it look like it was “suspended” into air.
The “green wall” contains plants on both sides and is separated from the 1st floor balcony slab, letting the light pass between the “green wall” and the balcony and creating different views and virtual spaces.
dlc_garcia zen garden_01
