Main author
Michael BrooksCalakmul Corporate Building, Mexico
The Calakmul Corporate Building is located in the Sante Fe neighbourhood of Mexico City, and is known locally as ‘La Lavadora’ (the washing machine). It was constructed in 1997 on what had been a junkyard before being reclaimed by the city government and developed into an affluent business district.
It was designed by architect Agustin Hernandez Navarro to honour the Mayan from whom the name Calakmul derives, and incorporates elements that represent the earth and the sky.
The complex consists of two separate modernist buildings – the nine-storey washing machine-esque structure and the adjacent pyramidal structure. The separated exterior is pristine white concrete, attached to the central commercial office building which is made of mirrored-glass, giving the impression of a globe inside a cube.
See the full Unusual building design of the week series here.
[edit] Find out more
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki
- Architectural styles.
- Building of the week series.
- Dali Theatre and Museum.
- Dancing House, Prague.
- Gentle Genius.
- Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao.
- Habitat 67.
- Little Crooked House, Poland.
- Lotus Temple.
- Luxor Las Vegas.
- Office Center 1000 Kaunas.
- Ryugyong Hotel, North Korea.
- St. Basil’s Cathedral.
- Tallest buildings in the world.
- The Gherkin.
- The Mile.
- The Oculus.
- Unusual building design of the week.
- Watts Towers.
Featured articles and news
PAC report on the Remediation of Dangerous Cladding
Recommendations on workforce, transparency, support, insurance, funding, fraud and mismanagement.
New towns, expanded settlements and housing delivery
Modular inquiry asks if new towns and expanded settlements are an effective means of delivering housing.
Building Engineering Business Survey Q1 2025
Survey shows growth remains flat as skill shortages and volatile pricing persist.
Construction contract awards remain buoyant
Infrastructure up but residential struggles.
Home builders call for suspension of Building Safety Levy
HBF with over 100 home builders write to the Chancellor.
CIOB Apprentice of the Year 2024/2025
CIOB names James Monk a quantity surveyor from Cambridge as the winner.
Warm Homes Plan and existing energy bill support policies
Breaking down what existing policies are and what they do.
Treasury responds to sector submission on Warm Homes
Trade associations call on Government to make good on manifesto pledge for the upgrading of 5 million homes.
A tour through Robotic Installation Systems for Elevators, Innovation Labs, MetaCore and PORT tech.
A dynamic brand built for impact stitched into BSRIA’s building fabric.
BS 9991:2024 and the recently published CLC advisory note
Fire safety in the design, management and use of residential buildings. Code of practice.
NBS launches industry guide for specification writing
Available for free and as immediate download.
Peter Barber’s work revives forgotten building types.
Insights of how to attract more young people to construction
Results from CIOB survey of 16-24 year olds and parents.
Focussing on the practical implementation of electrification.
Preston flood scheme completes primary school SuDS
Three primary schools benefit from SuDS schemes.