Milán 44, Mexico City

The micro-mall is a burgeoning retail theme in Mexico City, and Francisco Pardo and Julio Amezcua’s new Milán 44 is an exemplary addition. A tiny urban concept market arising from the reimagined trappings of an auto-parts warehouse, it marks the line between a booming business district and a quickly gentrifying hipster locale.

Francisco Pardo and Julio Amezcua’s dynamic, collective retail space reactivates a local neighbourhood.

Its goal is lofty: to reinvigoratingly connect the two areas and build strong social and economic networks within the local community. Explicitly crafted to be of the neighbourhood and for the neighbourhood, it’s home to local small businesses including a two-storey organic vegetable market, cafes, a bakery and a gourmet foods store, as well as a barber’s shop and a yoga studio. A top-floor rooftop bar gives visitors a space to gather and commune.

The four-storey open-plan structure features a raw, reticulated concrete framework that remains true to the building’s original bones, and sweeping windows and multiple ground-floor entrances create an open, welcome space ownable by the public. A green central staircase invites visitors to explore the space in its entirety – and there’s much to be seen.

Quickly becoming a destination space, Milán 44 is well on its way to becoming the heart of the high-contrast, dynamic Colonia Juarez.