M Apartamentos

Guatemala City, Guatemala

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M Apartamentos

Guatemala City, Guatemala

Firm

PXParchitecture &Partners

Type

Residential › Multi Unit Housing

STATUS

Built

YEAR

2014

SIZE

10,000 sqft - 25,000 sqft

Photos

Marko Bradich (1)

Consists of a five-story apartment building that takes advantage of the topographic condition of a steep slope, while promoting an exceptional panoramic view of the city framed by the surrounding mountains. From the access road, the view is limited to two floors hence it manages to minimize the visual impact, placing the building harmoniously in a residential environment dominated by the presence of single-family homes.

The small plaza parking is complemented by a mezzanine parking for visitors with a direct access from the street. The elevator is contained in a glass column to enhance the open and transparent character of M-Apartments. The front steps are immediately visible from the entrance and the sunscreen made of natural wood offers a warm integration with the environment where conifers predominate. The main entry is enhanced by a set of counter-posed vertices showing steel and wood at moments, showing masonry in others depending the angle.

The tower is 5 stories high (3 under street level), while the building center line sits below the square parking, thus leaving the service sector comfortably as a separate tower.
M-Apartments consists of 5 apartments, one per floor, generating a "floating" condition on the site and thus enhancing a sense of freedom that is achieved at the level of architectural expression through the access of light and natural ventilation.

To respect the privacy of the neighbors, window visors were used to re-direct the view inwards onto the south-west side walls while generating maximum aperture towards the valley on the north-west.
The housing solution consists of open, high-rise spaces largely as a result of opting for steel structure in order to allow a much distributive flexibility while maximizing the useful surface.
Construction finished in 2014 with a covered area of approximately 1,500 sqm.