Furniture re-design, Sample of works, workshop of excellence in furniture recycling. Our future as inhabitants of this generous Earth lies in conservation, recovery. This has been one of the main reasons for the program, as important as fomar young people who did not have our same opportunities to educate. The workshop has given us the opportunity, to us as the Foundation of the Historic Center of Mexico City and to young people previously trained in the carpentry and joinery workshop to recreate, recover and “save” furniture that would otherwise have ended up as Idle or in the trash.

The trained eye of Alfonso Miranda, Hector Rivero Borrell and others, could see the value behind the apparent chaos of broken and incomplete furniture. All these furniture, now have a second chance. Thanks to the creativity, ingenuity and commitment of teachers and the group of boys who began to recreate them, working under the sharp but respectful eyes of the coordinator and the teachers. Like the dry elm of Machado, they are reborn under the hands of this talented group, which I only need an open way to develop and create beautiful and worthy new objects.

The objects that have seen a nation’s history go by are not exempt from the onslaught of time. The fine materials become weak in the face of the weather and the passing of the years. However, justice towards our past is present when a group of enthusiasts see with other eyes what is presented in front of them. And seeks – by the hand of creativity – to recover the beauty of that furniture that teaches us how the life of our ancestors was.

This is how the Historical Center Foundation of Mexico City, was given the task of opening a workshop for young people who had no opportunity for educational development, and the hand and eye trained Alfonso Miranda, Héctor Rivero Borrel, among others , form a carpentry and joinery workshop to recreate and recover furniture from government offices, bars and hotels or houses and restaurants, which because they are incomplete or Broken were destined to become firewood or trash. But thanks to a new creative and ingenious look, turn them into beautiful works of art or new and worthy objects.

The Bamer project – because much of the recovered real estate came from the aforementioned hotel, which was closed after the quake of 85 and is now recovered for the purpose of converting it into a residential building – was born 5 years ago as a training program of trades linked to carpentry and wood. This workshop has evolved to reach results such as those presented at the Franz Mayer Museum. Where students in collaboration and advice from specialists in design, research, history and restoration, carry a proposal that aims to motivate, promote and strengthen the vision of the trades and their importance in the trends of Contemporary Mexican Design.

From the hand of the designer and coordinator Juan Zouain and the teacher and head of the workshop, Lino Rocha, the participating students present 20 pieces recovered and intervened under three lines of work: recovery, redesign and recycling and innovation.

The objective was clear, to return the original functionality of the furniture and, if necessary, provide it with new parts that made the stability of the piece possible.

All under a creative design by the participants, but without losing the original version of its author, that is: “apply design elements to the furniture, guiding the search for new guidelines for the construction and recreation of its functionality.”

The wood – pine or mahogany – of these furniture was recovered or recycled in some cases, the furniture was updated and given a second chance. In addition to seeking to encourage students in furniture creations for small spaces.

In this way, the Centro Histórico Foundation, in alliance with the National Fund for Culture and Arts (FONCA), was able to develop this program so that through art, design and creativity, dozens of young people without jobs, training or education , stay away from risks and problems among vulnerable sectors and learn a trade, train for a job and have a self-employment option. Thus achieving the stimulation of knowledge in the search for a comprehensive change in their lives. Improving the day to day of those who inhabit, work and forge the heart of the Capital in Mexico City.

Franz Mayer Museum
The Franz Mayer Museum, located in Mexico City, is one of Mexico’s most recognized museums on decorative arts. It was founded with the private collection of the businessman of the same name, of German origin. It houses the main collection of decorative arts in Mexico and presents temporary exhibitions of design and photography.

The collection allows us to appreciate pieces from different backgrounds, materials and styles from the 16th to the 19th centuries, mainly from Mexico, Europe and the East. The collection consists of pieces of silverware, ceramics, furniture, textiles, sculptures and paintings.

The building currently occupied by the museum is a place full of history. For four centuries it functioned as a hospital institution, standing out as the first hospital in America of the Order of San Juan de Dios.

The cloister, which due to its beauty is one of the attractions of the museum, serves as a framework for temporary exhibitions and through it you can access three rooms set from the viceroyalty: a dining room, a cabinet and a chapel.

In the high cloister is the Library open to the public and where there are also exhibits of the bibliographic collection. It protects more than 14,000 volumes, among which old and rare books, historical documents and 800 editions of El Ingenioso Hidalgo Don Quijote de La Mancha stand out.

The museum offers guided tours, courses, conferences, concerts, shows, children’s workshops, as well as special activities for its members.