Saúl Bistro Madero aims to blend human and industrial scales. Both the exterior and interior are conceived to reflect a playful, yet critical approach towards urban sprawl and sustainability.

This 4,500 sqft café and event space draws inspiration from commercial roadside icons. To draw attention of passing traffic at various speeds, the exterior was conceived of as a four-sided billboard. The result is a provocative fifty-foot tall neutral cube studded with colorful car chassis.

The urban highway scale of the exterior is paired with a lush, highly detailed interior-a pastiche of technical and traditional elements. Exposed steel structure, skylights, louvers, are expressed to emphasize the building’s systems. Reclaimed rainwater is collected in bright blue tanks to water fifteen-foot palm trees which partition the open floor plan.

The floor is made from a patchwork of cement tiles, new and recycled building material from local exterior patios. These elements combine with custom millwork, a vibrant material palette and tropical vegetation to create a space that is at once familiar and refreshingly unexpected.