When Nestlé’s Chocolate factory in Mexico City (located in Paseo Tollocan near Toluca) was in need of an inner pathway for visitors to witness the production of chocolates it was decided that the first chocolate museum in Mexico should have a 300 meter long facade along the motorway as the new image of the factory.
This first phase accommodates the main entrance and the auditorium so that children have a pleasant experience and start the voyage into the chocolate factory as soon as they enter this playful space.
The reception area serve as a preparation for the Nestle experience, the store or museum shop, and the passage to the tunnel inside the old existing factory.
“Because of the very tight timeline we had to think in a construction process that could give us time to assemble the complete project on time so we did the foundation and supporting columns in Concrete while creating the steel structure on site at the same time, when we where pouring concrete for the floor slab we where ready to assemble the 8-12” I beam steel structure as the main structural support then a second layer gave shape to the rest of the body 4” HSS steel section was welded on top of the first structure.
While we where covering the exterior with hunter Douglas color deck 408 corrugated panels that change directions according to the folding planes and to drain the rain water, on the interior we where using acoustical and thermical insulation panels covered with a plaster panels finished in slight variations of white and grey tones to accentuate the folding planes a bit more.
A 9mm tempered glass facade that opens to the motor way appears like a dissection of the existing form and reveals where the continuation of the chocolate museum will start phase 2!” Michel Rojkind
Record time: An architectural experience. Sensorial architecture, from the surprises, the twists and folds. An architectural challenge. As much the forms and the spaces they contain, like the times are taken to the limit. Foldings and record time: 2.5 months to finish….and that included design and construction!
The concept: A playful folding shape that is evocative for kids, of an origami shaped bird, or maybe a spaceship, or could it be an “alebrije”? What might seem like a capricious form is the fruit of diligent design explorations and an intuition about what the place should express. The spectacular result is as firm as the faceted shapes which sustain it.
Architecture as an experience. Sensory architecture, experienced through the architectural tour, through the surprises, the turns and the bends. Architecture as a challenge. The forms and spaces contained, as well as the times are pushed to the limit. Complexity and record time: three months to project and build. Dramatic and expansive architecture that reflects the frozen instant of trains crashing in the air.
Video: Nestlé Chocolate Museum (Phase 1) / By Rojkind Arquitectos
Project Data Project name: Nestlé Chocolate Museum (Phase 1) Location: Mexico city, Mexico Program: Museum Constructed Area: 634 sqm Design Year: 2007 Construction Year: 2007
The people
Client: NESTLÉ
Architect:Rojkind Arquitectos Principal in Charge: Michel Rojkind Project Team: Agustin Pereyra, Mauricio Garcia-Noriega, Moritz Melchert, Juan Carlos Vidals, Paulina Goycoolea, Daniel Dusoswa, Matthew Lohden Traqs: Luis Araiza, Jesús Gonzales, Agustin Villegas Efficiency: Fermin Espinosa, Francisco Espinosa, Carlos Juárez, Ricardo Brito, Francisco Villeda, Ana Isabel Morales, Verónica Jaimes Structural Engineer: Moncad [Jorge Cadena] Lighting Design: Noriega Arquitectonics Iluminators [Ricardo Noriega], Fernando Gonzáles Landscape Design: Ambiente Arquitectos y Asociados, [Fritz Sigg, Juan Guerra], Erick Flores
