Frida Escobedo explains how she renovated the 1950s Boca Chica Hotel in Acapulco, Mexico, in this exclusive interview with Dezeen.
Situated on the Pacific coast of Mexico in the beach town of Acapulco, Boca Chica Hotel is a renovation project born of a collaboration between Escobedo and her friend José Rojas.
Frida Escobedo renovated Boca Chica Hotel, which is located in the Mexican seaside town of Acapulco
The hotel was originally constructed in the late 1950s at a time when the small town was a popular holiday destination for Hollywood celebrities.
"It was a renovation project but it was almost like an archaeology project," the architect told Dezeen in this video, which is the fourth instalment in our series about the Mexican architect. The small town drew crowds of Hollywood celebrities during the 1950s, says Escobedo in the interview
"It was a hotel built in the fifties in the old part of Acapulco where the original jet set used to travel," she added.
Rather than simply restoring the hotel in its original style, Escobedo and Rojas chose to reinvigorate the hotel. The duo designed interventions to activate the spaces, including adding brightly coloured furniture and a nightclub.
Boca Chica Hotel features a brightly coloured pool area that overlooks the sea
"It was more like reorganising the spaces and finding little public spaces that we could re-appropriate and repurpose for the hotel," she said of her approach to its design.
One of the h...