Category: retail

Location: Escazú, Costa Rica
Year: 2019
Area:  38m2
Photographer: Andrés Garcia Lachner

Sencha Tea Bar is a shop in Avenida Escazú, one of San José’s busiest shopping/corporate centers. The wide variety of dining and retail options make it a popular destination among visitors and locals alike. The strategy is a brand redesign for Sencha Tea, rejuvenating and bringing it closer to the final user, not just in the architectural style which is more colorful and modern but also in their value proposition, expanding the line of products to offer prepared beverages. 

The shop is located on the ground floor of the shopping center and faces an open plaza. It sits next to the lobby area for corporate offices on one side and has a passageway to the parking lot on the other. Although most of the clientele is usually pedestrian, the shop can easily be seen from the project’s main road. 

The store is made up of a Tea Bar in the front and a product display area in the back. In this way clients can order their favorite tea drinks as well as purchase the products with which the drinks are made. It also has an outdoor seating area and a neon-lit selfie station. 

The material palette is based on the existing scheme used in previous Sencha Tea shops. It combines white metal, wood, concrete and steel mesh. Emphasis is given to areas of interest such as the bar and selfie station using led and neon lights to give it a playful and colorful touch.

Location: Santa Ana, Costa Rica
Project Year: 2019
Area:  77m2
Photographer: Andrés Garcia Lachner

CHIMPA is a boutique furniture and decoration store located in Lindora, Costa Rica. It’s designs focus on re-using and re-imagining materials and objects to create unique pieces, whilst maintaining a low carbon footprint.
It is located on the north-east corner of the Plaza Futura commercial center and is accessed through an internal green plaza, offering exterior views on all two of its facades.
Because CHIMPA is a furniture, lighting fixtures and decoration store, it is important to create an atmosphere where different set pieces can be exhibited whilst maintaining a sense of harmony. A metallic grid is installed in the ceiling as a structural element from which lamps and hanging pots can be hung. Furniture and decorations are positioned to create small ambiances and allow clients to navigate the store freely.  
The material palette consists of polished concrete tiles, glass, white painted metal and white-painted, lacquered wood for the counter area. It also combines several furniture pieces with different fabric tones and macramé.

Location: Santa Ana, Costa Rica
Project Year: 2019
Area:  253m2
Photographer: Andrés Garcia Lachner

BULALI is a restaurant and bakery located in Lindora, Costa Rica. The area is known for its sprawling residential developments, corporate centers and a diverse gastronomic scene. 

It is located on the north-west corner of the Plaza Futura commercial center. The front and lateral facades face a main road and a pedestrian walkway respectively. The posterior facade faces an internal green plaza, giving the project exterior views from all sides. 

BULALI’s brand concept unites dining, bakery and co-working. As such, the project consists of 3 separate areas that complement each other: restaurant/bakery, product display and shopping, and dining/working. The kitchen/bakery area is situated in the northern sector of the locale, with the bar and ordering desk facing towards the product display zone. Tables and seating are laid out in the terrace and in the interior facing towards a large window pane that gives clients a peek as to how the bakery operates. The south-east corner of the locale is used as a co-working area or a meeting room. 

The material palette borrows from an existing BULALI and adds new features. It mixes exposed concrete, colored tiles and wood with metal, glass and tan bricks. Brand identity is also strengthened through murals, decoration and lighting, giving BULALI it’s unique feel.

Location: Santa Ana, San José, Costa Rica 

Year: 2014
Area: 34 m2

Wö Kàpi is an artisan/organic café located in Santa Ana, Costa Rica. The project faces one of the busiest roads in Santa Ana and receives high vehicular transit during most of the day. The area is a popular leisure destination due to several other restaurants, fitness and shopping centers found on the same street, as well as offices and hotels.  
The site is surrounded by a botanical nursery. Shrubery and gravel are used to enclose the terrace area, and access and exit points are located on the front and back sides of the project.
The architecture aims to draw parallels with the artisan processes employed in the production of coffee. Natural materials such as recycled wood and reed are employed in the interiors and concrete and metal structures for exteriors. Passive climatization strategies such as natural lighting, large overhangs, cross ventilation and green walls are used to reduce overall temperatures and operational costs.

Location: Monteverde, Puntarenas, Costa Rica
Project Year: 2017
Area: 870 m2


Mercadito Monteverde is an urban food market located in Monteverde, Costa Rica. The area is famous for the Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Preserve, the first private area for the conservation of wildlife established in Costa Rica. It houses 2.5% of the world’s biodiversity and receives over 250,000 visitors yearly.
The site is located in the town of Santa Elena where most of Monteverde’s population lives. The only access is through the public road in the property’s south side. It adjoins a commerce building to the west and a wooded area surrounds the north and eastern edges. The terrain has a mild slope, with the lowest point situated in the main entrance.
Mercadito Monteverde is made up of 10 separate eatery spaces surrounding the main food market area. The enclosure forms a ringed pathway for costumers that separates the dining space and the shops. The roof follows the same geometry as the pathway and has a skylight in the center to fill the space with natural light. A welded mesh is placed in the ceiling from which artificial plants and lamps are hanged. Front and lateral setbacks are taken advantage of and used as outdoor plazas with seating and lounge areas.
The project combines a wide variety of materials. Metal is used for the roof, beams, columns, and handrails, and concrete for slabs and fixed seating. Corten steel and wooden panels line the exterior walls of the shops, and most of the food court rests on a stone wall basing.

Location: El Coco, Guanacaste, Costa Rica
Year: 2019
Area: 12,285 m2

Artflower & Agave is a mixed use complex located in Playas del Coco, Costa Rica. “El Coco”, as it is known locally, is one of the oldest beach communities in the province and continues to be ranked as one of the fastest growing areas of tourism in the country.

The site has a sloped topography and a small creek runs through it. The only access point is on the northern side of the property, facing Route 151. The rest of the property is surrounded by semi-dense woodlands. Zoning for the project was based on setbacks determined by the creek.

The project holds a warehouse, offices, a floral arrangement workshop, an outdoor event hall and a bar. The design for the offices and the workshop is based on local vernacular architecture. Both are located facing the main access point and are separated by a small plaza that leads towards the event hall. The road, parking lot and warehouse are all located parallel to these buildings. The bar is situated on the highest point of the property so as to offer views of the surrounding landscape.

Materials include polished concrete, glass panels, wood, reed, steel and metal siding. These are used to varying degrees depending on the building program. However, all buildings share a material palette to give cohesion to the whole project.

Location: Barrio Escalante, San José, Costa Rica
Year: 2016
Area: 966 m2

Lolita is an urban food court located in Barrio Escalante, one of Costa Rica’s most visited and relevant culinary locations. Previously an upscale neighborhood, Barrio Escalante has become a hotspot for locals and tourists alike, resulting in high pedestrian traffic and an active social scene. The area also hosts several public transportation nodes such as bus stops, a train station and urban bike rentals.

The site is made up of two properties with a historical building between them. Because of it’s irregular geometry, spaces are arranged using the same program scheme so as to maintain an order.  Historic and newly built architecture remains in the front, whereas the common and natural areas are located in the back. In doing so, passersby get a clear view of the dining options and are invited to discover the green social areas within.

A framed volume with the same height as neighboring buildings serves as the main entrance to the project. It simultaneously provides shading and creates a tunnel to enable cross ventilation to occur. Eateries are layed out on the sides of the frame whilst circulation and dining areas are set on the central space.  As users navigate the project they are led to varying social areas where activities such as live music, open air theatre and temporary marketplaces take place.

The materials and color palette used are based on existing ones found throughout Barrio Escalante so as to integrate the project to its environment. In addition, the varying vegetation, furniture arrangement  and murals within the interior areas create dynamic spaces that change seasonally.