This Mexico City hotel looks to local designers to kit out its rooms with handcrafted Shaker-inspired furniture that embodies the “less is more” mantra.
By Rachel Gallaher
Images courtesy of Design Hotels
As seen in issue 56
The Círculo Mexicano hotel celebrates the history of its neighborhood in the heart of Mexico City.
Taking a cue from its historic neighborhood, Mexico City’s Círculo Mexicano hotel presents a contemporary interpretation of classic regional design. Opened in midsummer 2020, the 25-room property, designed by local architecture studio Ambrosi Etchegaray, recreates the feel of the popular patio houses (residences organized around an open-air space) found in the area. Working with a 19th-century residential building (the late Manuel Álvarez Bravo, one of Mexico’s premier photographers, was born and spent his formative years at this address), the firm created a modern marketplace to anchor the ground floor, and situated guest rooms around a central courtyard. The rooms are finished in the same quarry and basalt stone seen throughout the hotel, which is complemented by the use of light ash wood and custom-crafted furniture by Mexican design studio La Metropolitana. Crowning the property is a rooftop bar and restaurant with sweeping views of the city, from the Metropolitan Cathedral to the National Palace to the Templo Mayor.
Custom-made furniture by design studio La Metropolitana embraces the Shaker design principles of simplicity, utility, and material honesty.
LEFT: Furnishings throughout the property are minimal but high quality. RIGHT: The building dates back to the 1800s and is organized around open-air space.
