Hotel Brick

by Tara Fitzgerald

Featured in the magazine’s tour of Mexico City’s Colonia Roma, Hotel Brick is housed in a listed Belle Epoque building. It has been in turns a banker’s home, a bordello and a locksmith’s. Today it is an elegant 17-room boutique hotel, completely transformed and extended by local practice LRDG, with a very popular bar, brasserie and café.

W* talk to the architects - Dany Izbitzki, Ori Izbitzki and Nahim Dagdug - about the Brick project and their passion for the neighbourhood, Colonia Roma.

W*: How did you go about designing the hotel?

LRDF: In reality it was something that already existed and all we did was clean it up a bit and let it bloom. The two things came together in a perfect confluence – finding the house and the ideal neighbourhood.

W*: What appeals to you about the Colonia Roma?

LRDF: We want to position Roma as an arts district in the city and to make sure it does not get filled with nightclubs like [next-door neighbourhood] Condesa.

W*: What other projects are you planning in the neighbourhood?

LRDF: We have several upcoming projects in Roma that are services that will enrich the colonia. We are planning an independent cinema, a type of business centre for freelance creatives, and a cultural forum on Alvaro Obregon.

W*: What are you top tips for visitors to the Colonia Roma?

LRDF: The array of independent art galleries that you can find here; a stroll along Orizaba street in the heart of the colonia; dining at Rosetta restaurant; a drink in Brick’s lobby bar.

W*: How do you see the future of the neighbourhood?

LRDF: We hope it doesn’t get overdeveloped or lose its character. We would like the old buildings to be preserved and for it to become a fully pedestrianised zone with a focus on culture and a friendly atmosphere.

8 October 2010 | Travel