Monolithic blocks of stone mimic man-made quarry landscapes for Grupo Arca's showroom and cultural centre in Guadalajara, Mexico, designed by Esrawe Studio.
The complex is designed to promote culture and education over business transactions, with a focus on Mexican architecture, design and fine arts.
Esrawe Studio split these two functions into separate buildings. Arts and learning spaces are found in the main, street-facing building in front of a large warehouse storing stone dealer Grupo Arca's collections.
Photo is by Jaime Navarro
Rectangular cut-outs on the building's facade reveal a layer of ocean blue marble underneath the black concrete exterior cladding.
Visitors access the building through a small opening in the monolithic facade and are led down a narrow corridor to the central internal courtyard. Photo is by Jaime Navarro
Called the Forum, its walls are lined with the same travertine from the facade, designed to create the sensation of being inside an excavated space.
"The character of the quarry is defined by the material," said the studio. "The monolithic expression and the monumental scale of it makes it a one of a kind experience."
Photo is by Jaime Navarro
Irregularly angled walls of the enclosing three floors above help carve out the stepped exhibition space within.
The sculptural walls allude the "manufactured landscape" of quarries, a term coined by Edward Burtynsky to describe the manipulation of organic landforms in the se...