LAURA VELA, A SPANISH ARCHITECT BASED IN MEXICO CITY, AND MANU BAÑÓ, A SPANISH DESIGNER ALSO LIVING AND WORKING IN MEXICO CITY, COLLABORATED ON THE INTERIOR DESIGN OF COLIMA 162, A CONCEPT STORE FOR LUXURY CLOTHING AND ACCESSORIES LOCATED IN THE HEART OF LA ROMA, ON COLIMA STREET, WITHIN A 130-YEAR-OLD HOUSE IN MEXICO CITY.

CONCEIVED AS A CONTEMPORARY INTERVENTION WITHIN A HISTORICAL CONTEXT, THE PROJECT INCLUDES BOTH THE INTERIOR DESIGN AND THE CREATION OF ALL FURNITURE PIECES. EACH ELEMENT WAS DESIGNED FROM SCRATCH AND HANDCRAFTED IN SANTA CLARA DEL COBRE, MICHOACÁN, MEXICO, USING TRADITIONAL COPPERWORK TECHNIQUES.

A LANDSCAPE OF HABITABLE SCULPTURES FOR CLOTHING AND ACCESSORIES, THE PROJECT RELIES ON A REDUCED MATERIAL PALETTE—COPPER AND MARBLE—TO DEFINE THE ENTIRE SPACE, ALLOWING FORM, PROPORTION, AND MATERIALITY TO TAKE CENTER STAGE.

GUIDED BY A PURIST AND MINIMAL APPROACH, THE INTERVENTION SEEKS A SCULPTURAL PRESENCE THAT CHALLENGES THE CONVENTIONAL LANGUAGE OF RETAIL SPACES.