- Project: Di Frenna Architects Atelier
- Architect: Di Frenna Arquitectos
- Location: Mexico, Colinas de Santa Fé, Colima
- Year: 2025
- Area: 294 m2
- Photography: Onnis Luque
In the lush setting of Colima, Mexico, the Di Frenna Architects Atelier by Di Frenna Arquitectos emerges as a compelling testament to how architectural workspaces can transcend mere utility to become generative environments of creativity, reflection, and architectural discourse. Completed in 2025, this atelier isn’t just a building—it is a material manifesto and philosophical refuge where the practice’s ethos and creative impulse are made tangible.
At its core, the atelier represents a synthesis of architectural production and inspiration. Conceived not simply as an office but as a creative instrument, the studio is designed to facilitate the cyclical processes of making, critique, and conception. From the model workshop to audiovisual spaces, flexible meeting rooms, and a central desk area, every spatial condition supports the multifaceted nature of architectural work.
A Spatial Narrative Rooted in Nature and Craft
What distinguishes Di Frenna Architects Atelier is its dialogue with the surrounding landscape and cultural context. Framed by nature’s green and organic energy, the building’s volumes rise with a quiet authority, embodying both presence and subtlety. The project leverages interior courtyards, shifting volumes, and a thoughtful interplay of light and shadow to articulate a spatial narrative that is both cohesive and dynamic.
Open courtyards break down the scale of the plan, allowing daylight, ventilation, and vegetation to penetrate deep into the atelier. These spaces are not passive gaps but programmatic catalysts that promote unwitting collisions of ideas—inviting workers and visitors alike to engage with space in ways that are intuitive and spontaneously creative.
Material Palette: Honesty and Tactility
The atelier’s material language is a dialogue between the raw and the refined. Concrete, steel, charred wood, stone, and glass converge to create a tactile and expressive environment that is at once robust and refined. These materials are used not for decoration but for their innate qualities—texture, thermal mass, patina, and structural clarity—that enrich the spatial experience.
Steel and concrete articulate structural logic, anchoring the atelier in permanence and strength, while wood and stone lend warmth and sensitivity. This contrapuntal palette embodies a core architectural principle: material authenticity not only defines space but also shapes how it is inhabited and perceived.
Light and Atmosphere: A Continuous Performance
Light is orchestrated with precision throughout the atelier. Carefully calibrated apertures, openings, and courtyards create a sequence of changing light conditions that animate surfaces over the day.
This considered choreography of light not only supports visual comfort but also accentuates materiality—casting shadows that read like architectural gestures, bringing out textures, and marking time in an intrinsically human scale.
Craftsmanship and Detail: Architecture as Narrative
Craftsmanship is central to the atelier’s character. Executed with the skill of local builders and artisans, the architecture showcases detail as narrative—where the junction of materials tells a story of intention and care.
This approach underscores a fundamental belief of Di Frenna Arquitectos: architecture should not only serve functional demands but also nourish the spirit and imagination of its users.
An Atelier as Architectural Statement
More than a workplace, the Di Frenna Architects Atelier stands as a comprehensive statement of values—a space where architectural thought is enacted daily, where material, light, and spatial sequence converge to form an environment that is both productive and poetic.
