Home to stately weekend getaways back in the early 1900s, Mexico City’s Tacubaya later evolved into a working-class district as the area urbanized. A few years ago, its rich historic context and close proximity to the trendy La Condesa neighbourhood caught the attention of local property developer Reurbano, which specializes in exciting adaptive re-use projects. After spotting potential in a 19th-century courtyard house that had fallen into disrepair, the company enlisted local architecture studio Productora to transform the overlooked gem into something else entirely: a 17-unit apartment building punctuated by a bold new exterior staircase.

Custom sliding doors open to an interior courtyard and towering ficus tree preserved from the original property.

A courtyard staircase original to the building inspired the new addition’s strong focus on outdoor circulation.

Despite the dramatic transformation at hand, Productora was careful to honour the character of the protected heritage property that anchors the project. “From the beginning, our intention was to achieve continuity,” says firm partner Abel Perles. Besides restoring the two-storey residence to its former glory — all the while converting its interiors into rentals and retail units — the firm also mined its details for inspiration in devising the new four-storey apartment block that they have placed on top.

Clay tiles in the kitchen continue out to the front street-facing patio. Balcony dividers match the blue staircase out back.

Walk around to the east side of the tower and it becomes clear that this L-shaped addition follows roughly the same configuration as the courtyard house it rises from. “Historically, it’s a very common layout,” notes Reurbano co-founder Rodrigo Rivero-Borrell. “It didn’t matter whether you were wealthy or not — you always had a patio, and people would always gather. We wanted to follow that concept so that all the apartments have a view.” Within each unit, floor-to-ceiling windows look out to a majestic old ficus tree that sits at the heart of this communal outdoor space.

The stair’s steel panels, steps and risers were welded onto metal plates placed during the building’s concrete pour.

But the most prominent historic feature to inform the revamp was actually the exterior staircase that connects the original house’s two levels. “We determined this should be the element around which the entire project would develop,” Perles says. As a result, not only is this staircase preserved, it is now joined by a suspended sky-blue spiral that links the third, fourth and fifth floors. Fabricated in a lightweight metal that allows it to cantilever out over the plaza below, this showpiece is painted to match other metallic details unearthed during the restoration of the original interiors. A bright new neighbourhood landmark, it transforms ordinary building circulation into a spectacular viewing platform in the sky. “We wanted the staircase to be part of the central courtyard and appear as a sculptural element that would enrich the experience of reaching the units by overlooking the city,” says Perles.

The project’s blue staircase introduces a bold new landmark to the historic Tacubaya neighbourhood.

For Reurbano, this housing project is the start of a bigger ambition to put Tacubaya back on the map — not only by densifying to serve more residents and retailers but by attracting other like-minded investors too. “We think it has a lot of potential, based on the type of buildings here,” Rivero-Borrell says. When it comes to this neighbourhood, the sky’s the limit.