The main target of this project was creating a space with style and materials that transcend over the years, creating wide open spaces to enjoy the privileged views from each area of the apartment. A specific requirement of the client was to optimize the whole apartment in order to generate areas that are always useful and an architectural program allowing every corner to be lived.


To achieve the greatest possible extent, we took advantage of the interior height, where the planning and crossing of the facilities played a very important role, reducing the trajectories and leaving the structural beams apparent, giving rhythm to the ceiling and resulting in a source of light as well as a decorative element.

A very sober materials palette with only three coatings: marble, wood and concrete were used. The relationship between the textures allowed to give the sought balance and elegance thus maintaining a timeless style.


Serrano Monjaraz Architects team always handles spaces through the visualization of the volumes, being the base for the design of this apartment bodies with different materials separating each area. In the public area two important volumes receive: a concrete block containing the kitchen and services and a marble block that works as a sculptural element in the apartment´s grand double height.

The staircase plays a very important role in this project, it is the element that stands out and enhances the magnificent double height, a simple element whose beauty is based on two rolled metal rails that rest on a glass bridge framing in both ways the granite steps. There is another element in this area, a large block of wood containing the public spaces and providing privacy to the family room.


On the top floor, we can see the large block of wood emerging from the ground floor becoming the master bedroom. The children’s bedrooms are very open allowing them constant interaction but having at the same time their private space by sliding the wooden doors to separate or connect the areas. The firm led by the architects Juan Pablo Serrano and Rafael Monjaraz has a philosophy of sustainability that is reflected in each project they carry out. This project is not the exception and has systems to optimize consumption in different ways. For example: a hot water recirculation system that reduces gas consumption by 40%, bathroom furniture with an aeration system that works by injecting air into the water to increase the water pressure, reducing its consumption to 50 %.

Using a ventilated façade and Duo Vent glass —with dark tones glass and a very high efficiency factor— the adequate thermal and acoustic comfort was achieved inside the apartment, so the air conditioning system was only considered in certain specific areas and as reinforcement in the warm season. All the lighting was integrated into this same system, managing to program and analyze the consumptions to optimize them and adapt them to the daily use of the inhabitants. All the lighting is LED, reducing the consumption of the entire department by approximately 60%.




  • Interior Designer: Juan Pablo Serrano & Rafael Monjaraz – Serrano Monjaraz Arquitectos
  • Photographer: Frank Lynen

Posted by Juan Pablo Serrano

Serrano+ celebrates 30 years of developing architectural spaces in which Quality is achieved by the proper use of materials and light as a creative element. Space is their raw material and with the support of multidisciplinary groups architect Juan Pablo Serrano Orozco, director of the firm, backed by a great team of associates and collaborators, demonstrate capacity and performance in all fields of architecture in Mexico and abroad. Juan Pablo Serrano began his studies in architecture and urbanism at the Universidad Iberoamericana in 1987, with exchanges at the University of Texas at Austin and the University of California at Los Angeles. He received an Honorable Mention from the Universidad Iberoamericana in 1991. Fourth generation of architects in his family. Professor at the Universidad Iberoamericana from 1993 to date and Academician of the National Academy of Architecture. The structure and professionalism that Serrano+ has today has been enriched by the collaboration in partnership with important national and international firms and architects; they have been invited to competitions in Mexico and other parts of the world and actively participate in the formation and dissemination of architectural work. Architecture is their means to collaborate in the development of a better urban context, since they are sure that the correct design of spaces is the way to have better cities. Their expertise has been strengthened by the constant search for the perfect combination of form and structure. For Serrano+, citizens are the backbone of cities and the buildings, in which they spend their day to day, are the elements that help them contribute with spaces designed to improve their quality of life. They have had the opportunity to design, direct and execute residential projects, restaurants, hotels, corporate, airports, industrial warehouses, cultural centers and housing developments. The sensitivity that the Serrano+ team imprints on their projects is the decantation of everything they learn every day. Light, materials and technology combine in a perfect balance to create the space that lives around the inhabitant. Awareness of ecological balance and nature has been present in their projects since their inception and they consider that sustainability is the only way to make architecture. They are members of the Green Building Council Mexico chapter, to strengthen their contribution to the architectural landscape with the design of buildings that have a high energy performance. With their work they have participated in different exhibitions in important countries such as: Mexico, the United States, France, Singapore, Italy, Argentina, Ecuador, Sri Lanka, China, Australia, Greece and Spain, as well as in interviews and in various national and international publications. His projects have received a large number of distinctions and recognitions both in Mexico and abroad. Today they are laying the foundations for the next 30 years.

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