In Houston, the headquarters for Mexican beverage brand Electrolit has taken root in a low-slung Spanish Revival building. Located on Buffalo Bayou, a historic artery at the centre of the city’s next wave of development, the building has seen many lives: originally home to the Star Engraving Company in the 1930s, a theatre, a children’s museum, and now an office that melds historic detailing with cross-cultural influences. The project, designed by a cross-border team that includes Schaum Architects, Houston architect Jesús Vassallo and Guadalajara-based architect Luis Aldrete, began in January 2023 by peeling back layers of the past.
“There had been a significant renovation done in 2020, turning it into a very raw commercial space with retail along the street,” shares Troy Schaum. Yet its original skylights, steel casement windows, columns and beams remained. Electrolit wanted something bespoke, something that resonated with the language of Guadalajaran architecture alongside multifunctional programming and artisan-made furniture and decor. The solution: Establish a new architecture inside the old one.
Stepping into the office, one is met by warm, wood-clad walls, while a double-height space reveals a series of 20-by-20-foot boxes crafted onsite from knotty alder, inserted for both formal and informal programming.
“We wanted flexible concept spaces for meetings and concentration, with smaller zones for general work and lounges. It needs to evolve with them,” shares Vassallo of the company, which is already growing rapidly within the almost-700-square-metre hub. There’s a lounge, kitchenette, phone booth volume and open space with workstations, while a stair leads to the mezzanine, where the CEO’s office and meeting room reside.
Avoiding the typical palette of corporate offices (metal, glass, sheetrock and carpet), they chose fire-rated glass block for dappled light, plaster, custom millwork and a Sikafloor DecoDur floor — a highly durable resin-based surface — which altogether create an atmosphere closer to that of a Mexican house than a corporate studio.
“We created a subdued atmosphere that lowers your blood pressure a bit [when you walk in],” Vassallo says.
Halfway through the process, Mexican interior designers Aagnes were brought in to lead the furnishing and decor decisions, sourcing most of the smaller-scale elements from local craftspeople in Guadalajara. “Guadalajara is a really important centre for craft, and that was something we wanted to integrate from the start,” Schaum adds.
For Electrolit, the project not only translates American, Mexican and Texan cultures into a singular space, but has also changed the way its employees work. In lieu of zones traditionally optimized for productivity, like open-concept workstations, employees regularly gravitate toward the lounge and kitchen, collaborating from couches or sharing ideas over meals.
And for a brand that’s made an electric splash within the beverage market, the HQ is anything but splashy; rather, it is a warm chromatic experience reminiscent of Guadalajara days and its artisan spirit.
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