SOUVENIRS Hoteles Mexicanos de Diseno - Mexican Design Hotels by Garcia Gonzales, Julieta; Juan José Kochen; Oscar Ramirez - 2012

Mexico, D.F.: Arquine / RAM. Very Good. 2012. First Edition. Paperback. 200 pages; Contents clean and secure in original stiff card decorative wrappers; two small spots (< 1cm) on front cover, otherwise very nice. Illustrated throughout with photographs and architectural illustrations. Boasting 31 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, historic cities and seductive beaches, Mexico is Latin America's most visited tourist destination. Yet, despite Mexico's fabulous contemporary architecture scene, until recently hotel design seemed limited to mega resorts of little distinction. No longer! As this rich and inspiring book of design hotels shows, visitors to Mexico may now stay in hotels that show off the work of the country's edgiest architects. Focusing on 21 boutique hotels throughout the country, from Mexico City to luxurious beach resorts, this lavishly designed and photographed book includes projects by many of Mexico's award winning international architects and firms, including Legoretta Legoretta, Ten, Bunker, Diametro, Miquel Adria and Javier Serrano. The hotels located in Mexico City -- Habita by TEN Arquitectos, Condesadf by Javier Sánchez, Capital District by Diameter architects, Brick by LRDF, Nahim Dagdug, Ori Izbitki, Dany Izbitzki and Alejandro Toussieh, Philadelphia by BNKR Arquitectura, Downtown by Javier Serrano and Abraham Cherem, and the Hotel de Cortés by Miquel Adrià and Paz Saravia, each manages to embody a calm and beautiful refuge within the frenzied activities of the city. The Hotel de Cortés, as well as hotels in the provinces such as La Purificadora de Legorreta+Legorreta, part of the Demetria hotel by Iván Cordero, Rosas & Xocolate de Salvador Reyes and Josefina Larrain, Maison Couturier by Carlos Couturier in Veracruz, Anticavilla by Bernardo Gómez-Pimienta in Cuernavaca, and Azul Oaxaca by Pedro Luis Macías and Tres Manos Arquitectura all involved extensive restoration and redeign. Each individual hotel design comprises its own map with precise cartographies in terms of location, design features, furniture and architectural language. The 21st Century has brought new elements to design of boutique hotels, such as the eco-hotel concept of Endémico Resguardo Silvestre by Jorge Gracia, and the technominimalism of the Hôtel Americano by TEN Arquitectos in New York. .