An ensemble of three buildings with offices, laboratories, a conference room and a tasting center was erected in the city of Queretaro in central Mexico, in an industrial zone, which, however, is located within the city's historic center. This presented the main difficulty: this part of Queretaro has the status of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and all new construction there must comply with strict legal provisions. Since the building is located on the edge of the Nestlé “campus” and faces the street, it falls under the general rule: its first floors should be decorated with an arcade - in the mainstream of the traditional urban development. Since the Rohkind building is located quite far from the historical quarters, the architect allowed himself a radical interpretation of the arch motif. In the lower part of the rectangular blocks, sheathed with light metal panels, rounded orange niches are chosen. Some of these niches are glazed and are part of the inner space of the complex, part is open. In the interior, the theme of bright colors is continued: individual rooms are painted in sky blue or light green, contrasting with the seeming restraint of the facade cladding. Window openings are visible only when they are opened for ventilation: when closed, they are indistinguishable from blank panels and do not break the outer surfaces of the walls.
This complex is not the first work of Michel Rohkind for the Mexican branch of Nestlé: two years ago, his Chocolate Museum of this company opened in Mexico City, also located on the premises of the factory. In both cases, the architect proposed solutions defined by the functionality and rigid logic of industrial construction, but enriched with all the experience of 20th century architecture. Both projects represent a step of architecture into the industrial construction, reminiscent of the movement in the opposite direction 100 years ago, which defined the modern architectural "landscape".
