In addition to lodging spaces within larger structures to fulfil pragmatic requirements, it is essential to festoon them artistically. This enhances their extrinsic aesthetic value, while also serving as a means for a better quality of indoor life. In residential buildings, one can employ various modes and means of decoration, to liven up the space. From embroidered tapestries and translucent drapes to decorative collectables, tableware and elegant furniture, the paraphernalia hosted in homes can vitalise even the most dreary interiors. The options for workspaces—places where one may spend an average of 40 to 50 hours every week—are, however, dire. In the absence of abundant opportunities for freely restyling these interior spaces, it becomes imperative for these structures to be designed innovatively from the get-go.

Some common redeeming features in office buildings are large span spaces to facilitate ample breathing and moving space, skylights and wall slits for peeks into the proximal environment and colour-specific and material-specific infusions that offset one area from the other. When these features are, however, enhanced with innovative ornamentation, they manage to elevate the user’s experience, as well as productivity. A good example of such an innovation is FabLab by Mexican design practice Roth Architecture.

Founded by social entrepreneur Roth in 2017, the eponymous architecture studio in Mexico delves into the processes of designing, modelling, prototyping and building spaces in the midst of nature. Roth Architecture is an offshoot of AZULIK, a brand that offers a range of experiences in the realms of art, architecture, fashion, hospitality, gastronomy, wellness, and more, with the intent of ‘elevating human vision and evolution.’ AZULIK City of Arts, of which Roth Architecture is a part, is a creative project housed in the heart of the Mayan jungle outside of Tulum, Mexico. The initiative’s purpose is centred around three key goals—to reconnect, to create and to celebrate, through its onsite museum SFER IK, its restaurant Jungle Cuisine, as well as the workshops undertaken by Roth Architecture. AZULIK Uh May, with its artisan studios (which are known as HIVES), and artist residencies, offers visitors a chance to experience an extraordinarily sophisticated experience. 

Roth Architecture, which, with a key focus on architecture and its functionality, operates with the intent of finding original and eco-centric solutions to quotidian needs, recently built FabLab, within the AZULIK City of Arts in Uh May. FabLab is built to inhabit experiments and innovations undertaken by designers and innovators of Roth Architecture. On being asked about the purpose of the structure, the studio elaborates, “The primary purpose of this space is to facilitate the experimentation and creation of materials and systems that contribute to the development of our architectural concepts. We believe that curiosity and critical thinking are expressed in the way we create.” It is a space meant for the development of unique tools, material compositions, electronics, programs, digital fabrication techniques, and physical and digital prototypes that can be applied across various products.

The AZULIK City of Arts, in fact, primarily houses Roth Architecture’s headquarters and The Temple, apart from the SFER IK museum and the Jungle Cuisine restaurant. The Temple further comprises the Innovation and Technology unit, which hosts both, the Material Research Lab and FabLab. Another section within The Temple is the Research and Development wing, which 'strives to create pioneering approaches to materiality and construction techniques that emphasise biodesign, biomaterials, biomimicry, and biophilia.' The Mexican architecture studio understands the importance of contextual awareness as well as knowledge of the vernacular. For this reason, the ecological architecture firm extensively studies every project site, with the intent of knowing and understanding the history, culture, place, materials and natural systems of the area.

FabLab is nestled within the previously constructed open-air shell in the AZULIK estate. Both the shell and the proximal landscape—comprising trees, plants and rocks—helped the architects determine the profile, placement and orientation of the organically shaped volumes that make up FabLab. Spread across AZULIK City of Arts, FabLab comprises five bubbles of different sizes, which house the main office, the material lab, the CNC room, the waterjet area and the Kuka robot room. While the office design accommodates 20 people, the other areas are configured to host advanced digital fabrication tools, including 3D printers, scanners, laser cutting, CNC milling, water jet cutting, and a six-axis robotic arm. Since FabLab is stationed within a rainforest, where the climate is humid for most parts of the year, the usage of air conditioning is imperative to ensure a comfortable environment.

Keeping in line with their motto of designing immersive atmospheres that can enhance the user experience, the Mexican architects envisioned an organic form with translucent cut-outs resembling butterfly wings, to let the light in. "The inspiration for the form of this building, like many of the studio's constructions, is the organic and irregular forms we find in nature itself. The central module rises in a meandering form, providing a visual impact of dynamism. Both the doors and the windows use patterns and shapes that could be reminiscent of tree leaves or insect wings from the jungle,” the studio shares with STIR. Some of the material used to build these organically shaped entities include reinforced concrete, glass and steel. The fenestrations, on the other hand, are made using resins and natural fibres such as palm fibre. The architects surmise that the structure can have a useful life of approximately 60 years. With the implementation of relevant preventative measures and maintenance, its life cycle can further be extended. 

FabLab serves as a creative space where technology and craftsmanship can meet. Driven by innovative ideas and the intent of delivering results that are sustainable, it stands as a station where Roth Architecture’s team of architects, researchers, engineers and innovators can utilise advanced technological tools to express their ecological designs as well as manufacturing capabilities. Elaborating on this component, the studio shares, “Through the Global FabLab network, artisans, artists, and creators exchange ideas, fostering innovation and replication. As a collaborative endeavour, the FabLab also connects diverse cultures, sparking collaboration and co-creation. Our overarching strategy involves merging ancestral, contemporary, and artificial intelligence through bespoke materials, construction systems, and computational design solutions. The FabLab serves as a hub where diverse expertise and cultures converge. Surrounded by a rich jungle setting, it houses 3D printers, thermoforming machines, laser cutters, and water jets.”

The project was undertaken by Roth Architecture in collaboration with Daniel Roque, Nicolás Cano, and Carlos Córdova. It went through various design iterations before being physically conceived. Its concept is in line with the studio’s prepotent design philosophy—of developing a customised approach for each new project, and of working with structurally challenging, non-planar, curvilinear forms, that are evocative of the natural curves witnessed in the proximal environment. Detailing their approach of constructing the structure, the studio shares, “For this project, we pushed Roth Architecture’s design language, by working with new materials and greater open elements within the enclosure system. We worked with a variety of different tools—both analogue and digital. A usual suite of digital tools that architecture studios work with was employed to generate the basic concept and many design decisions were actively made onsite during the process of construction.”

Beyond the new challenges that this project presented for the team members, it served as a means for learning more about the provisions of the AZULIK network and its innovative, inclusive and multidisciplinary mode of working. The project helped the studio develop methods that made the fabrication of the organic structure possible. The studio intends to make use of these methods in building the many commercial and residential additions planned for the City of Arts.

Project Details

Name: FabLab
Location: In Francisco Uh May, Quintana Roo, Mexico
Area: 661 square metres
Year of completion: 2023
Architectural Firm: Roth Architecture
Lead Architects: Eduardo 'Roth' Neira, Fernando Artigas, Jordi Baez
Design and Support Team: Abigail Perez, Elizabeth Cohn-Martin, Alexandre Jacquebeit
Other collaborators: Daniel Roque, Nicolás Cano, and Carlos Córdova