Hotel Básico
Quintana Roo, México
Central De Arquitectura with Omelette

Playful cultural references populate this small Mexican hotel

	Index | Project Specs
	Click here for slide show. Photo © Carlos Álvarez

Interior designer Héctor Galvan writes that Básico, a 15-room hotel located one block from the beach in Quintana Roo, Mexico, “is a work that allowed me to approach and interpret my culture under a new light, getting rid off of the habitual stigmas about Mexicans and the way in which we work and do things, taking advantage of our natural talent for improvisation and guilt.” He intended his design to achieve comfort and sophistication without pretension, while recalling the spirit of Mexican beaches thirty or forty years ago.

In his approach to materials and furnishings, Galván explored the country’s complicated relationship with oil, which was a major part of the nation’s economy during the 20th century. Rubber, recalling both automobiles as well as the ancient Olmec culture, also populates the space often in unexpected ways. For instance, black and white curtains, made of latex, hang in the lobby, while tires hang on the walls of the guest rooms like decorative art pieces. On the rooftop patio, Galvan converted two large oil tanks into soaking tubs and, nearby, guests may lounge in cabanas fashioned from old truck cabs.

Other, more whimsical, Mexican cultural references infuse the space. Drawers underneath the guest beds contain objects such as autographed soccer balls, while the reception desk doubles as a juguería (juice bar) by day and a cocktail bar by night. The entrance and lobby area resembles a market, while the guestrooms feel more industrial in nature thanks to exposed plumbing and concrete walls. Guests ascend to their rooms, which are located on the hotel’s second and third floors, by way of the freight elevator or a scaffold-like wooden stair.

Formal name of project:
Hotel Básico

Location:
Quintana Roo, México

Gross square footage:
16,447 sq. ft.

Total Construction Cost:
$3 million

Owner:
Grupo Hábita

Architect:
Central De Arquitectura with Omelette Ámsterdam
91 Colonia Condesa
México, D. F.
52-55-266-0923 tel.

Omelette
Puebla 86 esq. Mérida
Colonia Roma 06700
México, D.F.
52-55-5207-1160 tel.
www.omelette.com.mx

Click here to see all the people and products behind this project