Vivid, complex, and full of pleasing geometries, Iturbide Studio by Taller de Arquitectura Maurico Rocha and Gabriela Carrillo is a beautiful example of Mexican architecture that?s simultaneously rooted in tradition and the modern era. At first glance, its towering form and perforated brick facades look almost futuristic, especially when taken in alongside its much humbler neighbors. Still, this structure ? a custom workspace for a renowned Mexican photographer ? is anything but pretentious.

A contemporary expression of vernacular Mexican architecture, this kind of open brickwork has become a creative way to add both personality and breathability to building projects. The bricks might be latticed, as seen here, or arranged in sculptural, almost mural-like patterns, with segments twisting and turning to create shapes within what would otherwise be blank facades. Architects Rocha and Carrillo explain that their primary objective, other than fulfilling Iturbide?s desires for a light-filled indoor-outdoor space protected from the sun, was the pursuit of emptiness. As they put it, their projects set out to ?translate the traditions and materials of the places in which [they] operate in a contemporary way, not through fashionable forms or fireworks, but with silence, space, and the experience of emptiness.?

?In our case, the void is a perfect space for various things. It is a space offered to users in a free way, but also the ideal place to test the potential of natural light...