Nouvel’s New Facilities
Furniture Design & Architecture
Year: 2022
Status: Completed
Location: San Andrés Atoto, México
Suppliers: IHO, USM Haller, Grupo DI, Andreu World, Vissio, Starco, Signl, Vitra.
Photographs: Nouvel / Fernando Etulain
The Architectural and interior design project developed by Tuux includes also a gallery, a showroom, a bar and an extensive archive.
Nouvel’s headquarters is a building located within its production plant that includes offices, a gallery for projects exhibition, and an area for its archives and permanent collection. The project includes the extensive remodeling of an existing building, which was expanded and reconfigured to generate almost double the usable area, and to include functions that were previously carried out off-site.
The architectural project was developed by Tuux in a long and deep collaborative process with Nouvel, as part of a business and communication reconfiguration program.
This long-term project began in 2018 with the curatorship of Emiliano Godoy for the exhibition InVisible: Design in Glass that was installed at the Franz Mayer Museum in Mexico City. In the process of conceptualizing the exhibition, organized to celebrate Nouvel’s 25th anniversary, it became clear it was essential for the brand to build a permanent collection, but also an internal structure to archive, study and valorize the work of innovation, design and art that is done at Nouvel. A new division was conceptualized that would be in charge of these tasks, called the Nouvel Archive.
In this sense, the curatorship of the exhibition is an integral part of the architectural and design project of the company’s headquarters, since the museography developed for the first two rooms was conceived to have a first chapter in the museum, and a second chapter as part of the offices. After the closing of the exhibition, the immersive installation of the first room of InVisible was moved exactly the same way to a space prepared ex-profeso in one of the headquarters of the Pavisa Group. Similarly, the storage and display furniture for the second room was developed so that after the exhibition, it could be transported and installed in the new office extension.
In addition to the concept of reuse that marked the project from the beginning, and the decision to reuse the existing construction, the project used other environmental strategies, including the use of wood from sustainably managed forests; the specification of low-energy lighting with Casambi control; solar orientation and natural ventilation in most of the spaces to reduce energy consumption.
The design of Nouvel’s headquarters, therefore, is not only an architectural project that meets the requirements of functional, modern and flexible spaces required by the company, but also the materialization of its new concepts of identity. This business and architectural reconfiguration project is possible given the long and deep relationship between Nouvel and Tuux.
This relationship has resulted over the years in products designed for the brand; creation of new production processes; collaboration in events and fairs; and has been the recipient of several international awards and recognitions. Thanks to this intimate collaboration, Tuux was able to generate a space that meets the functional and programmatic needs of the company, while reflecting its work philosophy and brand values.
