PALMA suspends gridded canopy of volcanic stone over mexico city terrace

mexico-based studio PALMA fabricates a project which seeks to provide a shadowed space for the rooftop terrace of an apartment in mexico city’s escandón neighborhood. a gridded canopy comprised of thirty-six pieces of volcanic stone are suspended above the terrace and anchored to a metallic structure spanning overhead. at the center of each stone, a brass disc is screwed onto a metallic member which is hidden behind the first plane of ‘floating’ stones. 

all images by luis young

beneath the structure, a grid of shadows appears and disappears throughout the course of the day, mirroring the pattern of PALMA’s stone pergola onto the floor. while the red stones seem to float above the views of the city, the blue sky outlines the profile of the grid. a textured collage is created, contrasting the sky, the grain of the stone, and the metallic discs that carry them.

project info:

location: mexico city
architects: PALMA (ilse cárdenas, regina de hoyos, diego escamilla, juan luis rivera)
collaborators: tonatiuh armenta
project year: 2018
photography: luis young