Dwarfing the likes of New York, Los Angeles and Toronto, Mexico City boasts North America’s largest urban population. Even in the heart of the city, however, a sense of intimacy pervades, with quiet, low-rise residential streets in lieu of soaring skyscrapers and imposing mid-rise blocks. Many of the Mexican capital’s tranquil inner neighbourhoods are also surprisingly dense milieus of small 20th century apartment buildings — as well as recent projects like CPDA Arquitectos‘ Casa Jardin Escandón.
Situated south of the city centre in the mostly residential Escandón neighbourhood, the low-rise apartment complex faces Agricultura street with a gabled facade clad in galarza stone. In form and materials, the subtly articulated brick frontage speaks to the neighbourhood’s older buildings, while the facade’s three-storey scale blends in with an eclectic, varied streetscape. Past the wall, another setting beckons.
A narrow but deliciously verdant inner courtyard is tucked into the spine of the complex, fostering a tranquil yet sociable feeling through the building. Bringing natural light and cross-ventilation into each of the 14 homes, the compact space is navigated by a zig-zagging path that accommodates triangular balconies for a pair of ground floor apartments. A lush array of native plant species energizes the space while maintaining a sense of privacy and separation, with the greenery gently spilling from the rooftop gardens.
The light galarza bricks offer a crisp yet tactile backdrop for the courtyard’s rich greenery, while earth tones on the windows and railings reinforce a grounded, soothing ambiance. In a small courtyard, the unfussy combination of light tones and subtle brick articulation also make for a more comfortable space.
Four suites — each with a private green space — occupy the ground floor, with 10 larger three-storey apartments above. Catering to families, the townhouse-style homes on the upper levels each feature a private rooftop garden. Atop the brick-clad form that defines the building’s street-level presence, the upper-most storey combines outdoor green space with discrete dusty pink residential volumes set back from the courtyard. From above, it’s a graceful accent on the tree-lined local skyline.
On a relatively narrow site, CPDA Arquitectos’ design offers a breathable infusion of family-friendly density to the neighbourhood. It’s an urban scale seldom found across North America — dubbed the “missing middle” between single-family homes and larger mid- and high-rise buildings — but one that continues to define much of the residential fabric of the Mexican capital.
Casa Jardin Escandón joins recent projects like PPAA’s artfully austere eight-unit Carrizal and Taller Héctor Barroso’s striking multi-family LC710 housing complex. Varied in style and sensibility, much of Mexico City’s new residential architecture is united by an embrace of outdoor space within a modest urban scale — and no shortage of aesthetic ambition.
A Mexico City Apartment Complex Embraces Intimate Urban Greenery
CPDA Arquitectos bring modest density — and exuberant plant life — to the popular Escandón neighbourhood.