BGP Arquitectura - Mexican Pavilion at the Salon du Livre in Paris

Monday, 20 April 2009 19:00

The Mexican Pavilion at the Salon du Livre in Paris last March 2009 exhibited some strong personality and character. The pavilion was designed to project the spirit of the cheerful country that it represented, full of life and rich with traditions. It shed the light on a modern country that looks ahead for the future while proudly embracing its past.

The pavilion was designed within a 1,000m2 space, subdivided into 3 isles accessible by two lane, three meters and the six meters wide.

A continuous carpet of multicolor square covered the whole area, while the furniture was expressly built with naturally finished MDF, in order to contrast the multitude of colors on the carpet.

All the furniture was cut by digital plotters and the union between the different elements was visible, giving an idea of their elements and how were assembled.

The first section displays books for sale, written by Mexican authors and proposed in Spanish and French.

Two separate activities shared the central portion of the pavilion, the first one being an exhibition displaying some impressive object-art-books that were created by a multitude of Mexican artists and the second one is a tribute to FCE; a Mexican independent publisher, who is celebrating his 75 anniversary.

The third part of the stand consists of a wall displaying books, while supporting a mezzanine, where reunions with the editors took place. Finally, an auditorium fitting up to 80 people, allowed the hosting of conferences and forums with some of the best Mexican writers.

All over the pavilion were the highly colorful banners of different sizes, suspended from different heights. They complement the multi-color attributes of the carpet, and help to produce a highly dynamic space.

Project data:

Project: Pabellón de México, Salón del libro
Location: Paris, France
Architects: Bernardo Gomez-Pimienta and Samael Barrios
Graphic design and image: David Kimura, Gabriela Varela
Area: 1,000 m2
Construction: GALIS, Fabrice Laborde
Photography: Pierre & Gilles