CRB Arquitectos creates timber building with "vertical gardens" in Mexico City
Local studio CRB Arquitectos has completed a timber apartment building with planted atriums and sculptural staircases in the heart of Mexico City.
The 3,770-square metre (40,580-square foot) building – known as ONTO Álvaro Obregón – opened in 2025 in the Roma Norte neighbourhood, an area known for its vibrant social life.
It consists of units both for sale and for rent as part of a hotel-style management system that allows for short and medium stays.
CRB Arquitectos combined a gridded facade and a series of voids with a connection to nature.
"The ONTO Álvaro Obregón project aims to optimise space through a timber structure, reducing environmental impact while ensuring the building's durability," the studio told Dezeen. "
Additionally, it contributes to the urban environment by respecting and enhancing the city’s image, incorporating innovative construction solutions."
The structure is a hybrid of prefabricated wood and steel in a double-layered facade, supported by a beam structure. The beams are set on concrete columns and piles, which evenly distribute the load despite the low soil consistency.
The combination of exposed wood and concrete creates spacious interiors with generous ceiling heights.
"The resulting joints blend aesthetics and functionality, using concealed steel connectors between the wood and concrete, producing a clean facade that appears as if solid wooden planks were simply stacked together," the studio said.
The facade also reveals inset balconies with delicate metal railings that filter light and air into the modular units.
Set back from the street with a sound-insulating landscaped buffer, the building connects to the urban environment with a ground-floor restaurant.
The rectangular building is divided into two towers by an interior atrium space defined by planted half-circles on either end and a central ventilation shaft that brings natural light down through all eight floors.
"The voids are designed to form patios at the basement level, featuring gravel flooring, monolithic concrete benches and lush vegetation including ferns, sago palms and kentias," the studio said.
"These spaces of reflection and rest grow stronger with each level thanks to vertical gardens, creating the sensation that they extend all the way to the rooftop, accompanying users on every floor."
Sculptural staircases surrounded by natural foliage connect the apartment levels that each contain four street-front units and four rear units.
The compact units contain a bedroom, living room, dining area, kitchenette, desk space and bathroom that is discreetly connected to the ventilation shaft with narrow windows made of repurposed railroad ties.
Interiors, designed by Estudio M:A, features natural wood and Caledonia granite, chukum-style plastered walls and locally sourced textiles.
"The top level features a public rooftop garden that frames the best views of Mexico City," the studio said, pointing out the bar and open-air dining area designed to foster interaction between residents and outside guests.
Landscape design by Hugo Sánchez incorporated low-maintenance native plants as well as a rainwater harvesting system.
Founded in 2015 by Sebastián Canales and Javier Rivero Borrell, CRB Arquitectos designed a rounded, wedge-shaped apartment building, complete with orange-toned concrete and a rooftop garden, also in the Roma neighborhood. The project was longlisted for Dezeen's 2024 housing award.
The photography is by Arturo Arrieta and César Béjar Estudio.
Project credits:
Client: SEDE
Architecture: CRB Arquitectos
Design Team: Sebastián Canales, Javier Rivero Borrell, Carmen Alfaro, Regina Kuri
Structure: Ubando Ingeniería (Ing. Oliver Ubando)
Construction: Secuencia
Landscape: Hugo Sanchez
Interiors: Estudio M:A
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