Recycled-plastic plinths hold furniture at "secret" Barragán house in Mexico City

For Design Week Mexico 2026, design studio 2×1 displayed works by French and Mexican designers on plinths in the gardens of Casa Ortega, a rarely opened private residence designed by local architect Luis Barragán in the 1940s.

The Creative Immersions France-Mexico 2026 exhibition featured furniture and design objects by over 30 designers.

It was the result of three years of residency programs in which French designers travel across different regions of Mexico to work with local artisans, craftsmen and studios.

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The pieces, which include an assortment of furniture, bags, vessels and more, were displayed across a system created by Paris- and Mexico City-based studio 2×1.

The studio worked with Mexican materials company New Fibers to create dark-red plinths made of Polyroca, a plastic panel made of recycled post-industrial laminated cardboard waste.

The team also created more extensive display units made of industrial metal structures and fabric awnings.

The works included a 2026 stool by French designer Fanny Serouart and Taller Maya, a group that connects Mayan artisans with global markets, and vessels created by French designer Matali Crasset and Mexican studio And Jacob.

Other collaborations presented include a bright yellow metal chair by Paris-based design group Hall Haus and Mexico City-based studio Neko Design, created in 2024.

The works were distributed in the corners and open verandas of the gardens of Casa Jardín Ortega (Casa Ortega), Luis Barragán’s personal residence that predated the more famed Casa Luis Barragán, which sits just next door in the San Miguel Chapultepec neighbourhood.

Designed between 1942 and 1947, Casa Ortega was a house for the architect in his 40s. He experimented with different motifs and structures in the house that he would later implement in Casa Luis Barragán, but it is distinguished by its expansive gardens.

Its caretakers consider it “Barragán’s best-kept secret”.

Local silversmith Alfredo Ortega Rojas purchased the property in 1947 after Barragán moved out, giving the house its name.

Today, Casa Ortega is privately owned and stewarded by Ortega’s descendants and family, including local architect José Manuel Bárcena.

The family keeps Casa Ortega relatively restricted to visitors, as it is currently inhabited. For Design Week Mexico 2026, however, it is hosting tours and has opened the gardens for the Creative Immersions exhibition.

Supported by a group that includes the French Embassy in Mexico, the Creative Immersions residencies focus on “200 years of cultural, intellectual, artistic, and economic exchange” between Mexico and France, with the intent to blend traditional and contemporary design.

Creative Immersions France-Mexico 2026 was curated by C Cúbica Arquitectos, whose co-founder Andrea Cesarman organises Design Week Mexico and was a founding member of the event eighteen years ago.

Dezeen previously rounded up eleven designers that used surprising sustainable materials at Design Week Mexico 2025 and ten noteworthy exhibitions from the week in 2023.

The Creative Immersions France-Mexico 2026 exhibition is on show at Casa Ortega from 5 to 25 October. For more events, talks and installations in architecture and design, visit the Dezeen Events Guide.