Historic brick walls and a spiral staircase feature in a Baja Peninsula hotel that was designed by Mexican firm Max von Werz Arquitectos to embrace its seaside context.
The Baja Club Hotel is located in the historic centre of La Paz, a coastal city in Mexico's Baja Peninsula. The 32-room property, which is owned by the boutique hotel company Grupo Habita, was longlisted for a 2021 Dezeen Award.
The Baja Club Hotel is located in a colonial-style villa
The 3,623-square-metre project entailed the adaptive reuse of a colonial-style villa dating to 1910 and the construction of a new, four-storey extension. The site was once used for oyster pearl harvesting.
Mexico City's Max von Werz Arquitectos designed the architecture, while the Parisian studio of Jaune oversaw the interiors. Mexican firm PAAR worked on the landscape design. For the new addition, the team designed an L-shaped building
"Baja Club's central question is the age-old one of how to build on a site's rich history and character, but at the same time update it in order to give it a new lease on life," the team said. "Our response is a nuanced one."
For the new addition, the team created an L-shaped building ? the same shape of the original villa.
Tiered massing breaks up the hotel's external appearance
The two buildings are loosely organised around a central courtyard that is dotted with fragrant frangipani trees. Tranquil gardens and patios were incorporated into the perimeter of the site.
The ex...