The vintage bookshops of Mexico City‘s Roma neighbourhood shaped the interiors of this basement bar mexico city hideaway. Local studio Em-Estudio designed the space.
Libreria Valladolid sits below an early 20th-century house in the city’s historic colonia. The designers set out to recreate the feeling of browsing an old bookshop inside this underground bar.
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“It captures the thrill felt when entering these places, searching for a unique story that has patiently waited among thousands of books on all topics and from many eras,” said Em-Estudio.
A plain street door leads to an entry vestibule. Shelves packed with old volumes line the space. A wooden staircase descends from there to a second threshold.
Small lamps sit between the spines and on top of the stacks. They cast a moody glow that prepares guests for the bar below.
“The old bookstore is encountered upon entering, as you descend the stairs, and it remains behind as you cross the first threshold, where the books transform into the skin that embraces the rooms,” the studio said.
Dark herringbone flooring and burgundy surfaces carry the bookshop mood into this bookstore-inspired bar. The main walls are fitted with shelves from floor to ceiling. Books are stacked spine inward, so the beige of their pages faces the room.
Cove lighting picks out the books against an otherwise shadowy room. Banquettes run beneath them, paired with round marble tables for drinks.
“The pages of thousands of books resting on bookshelves that reach the ceiling shed their literal meaning, becoming a tapestry in shades of white that only time can give, bathed in a gradient of warm light,” Em-Estudio said.
Gold leaf and brass highlight the DJ booth, the bar and the bathrooms, and this bar interior design relies on these surfaces to catch the light and draw the eye across the room.
A hidden green room in this basement bar mexico city
A further lounge here sits behind another bookshelf. The designers decorated this shelf with cans and objects that “evoke a grocery-store bar”.
This room swaps burgundy for green. Gloss green paint covers the ceiling. A long marble table runs down the centre.
Dark wood chairs with yellow upholstery line each side of the table. Their designs follow the Van Beuren model. Bookshelves on both walls are uplit along each shelf.
A mirror covers the back wall. It doubles the room visually, extending both the table and the bookshelves into the reflection.
Reused historic material is a theme here too, and Historic Architectural Fragments Become Modern Furniture shows how old fragments can become sleek new pieces.
About the studio
Em-Estudio was co-founded by architect Ivan Esqueda and interior designer Gala Sánchez-Renero. The couple also run individual practices.
Their earlier work includes a holiday home on a steep hillside in Oaxaca, Mexico. The house uses coloured concrete chosen to blend into the rocky slope.
Project credits: Architecture and interior design by Taller Ivan Esqueda and Gala Sánchez-Renero Estudio. Design team: Berenice Galindo, Sergio Peláez and Fabián Cedillo. Construction and installations by Miguel Ángel Márquez. Carpentry by Leonardo Cabrera.
Source: dezeen.com
Frequently asked questions
Who designed the basement bar in Mexico City’s Roma neighbourhood?
The basement bar was designed by Em-Estudio, a local studio co-founded by architect Ivan Esqueda and interior designer Gala Sánchez-Renero. The bar sits below Libreria Valladolid, in an early 20th-century house.
What are the walls of the Mexico City bar covered with?
The main walls are fitted with floor-to-ceiling shelves of old books, stacked spine inward so the beige of their pages faces the room. Cove lighting picks out the books against an otherwise shadowy room.
What is the hidden green room in the basement bar like?
The hidden lounge sits behind a bookshelf and swaps the burgundy of the main room for green. It has gloss green paint on the ceiling, a long marble table down the centre, and dark wood chairs with yellow upholstery.
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