Memoria y Reinvención
A residence for designers in Mexico City
Habitación 116 and Studio Andrew Trotter have recovered the studio at Parque Melchor Ocampo 38 where Clara Porset once worked, turning it into a residence for designers. It pays homage to Mexican functionalism, to the work Porset carried out there, to Luis Barragán and Max Cetto, not to mention an enduring way of understanding the processes of creation and design.
When Parque Melchor Ocampo 38 became available, Luis Garvan and David Lee Ericson, who live in the building, mentioned the possibility of renting the space to their friends Andrew Trotter and Marcelo Martinez so they could develop closer ties with the creative community in Mexico, a place they had fallen in love with since their first visit about five years ago. So went to see it with their friends Rafael Rivera and Javier Claverie from Habitación 116. “It wasn’t expensive, but it wasn’t cheap either. Rafael and Javier said that it was too good to pass up.”
Marcelo and Andrew wholeheartedly welcomed the Habitación 116 initiative. “By bringing the building back to life to become what it was before is, I think, a beautiful way to give something back to artists and designers. It helps Marcelo and me feel like we are part of Mexico, and it connects us with our good friends at Habitación 116.” That was how Memoria y Reinvención came about.
The building itself, designed by Luis Barragán and Max Cetto, is probably the largest project on which Habitación 116 and Studio Andrew Trotter have been involved. A programme whose character will be forged by resident designers from all around the world working together. Their work will be the legacy that will shape Memoria y Reinvención, a new milestone in the history of this iconic place.
