Rooted in Place

Two hours north of Mexico City is Querétaro. As the capital of the most diverse of Mexican states, Querétaro is attracting investors with big plans for the historic colonial town. When Mexican retail chain El Palacio de Hierro asked Gensler to design a 300,000-square-foot luxury department store there, it set out to uncover the region’s DNA through site and field research. “The client wanted a deeply rooted, yet updated, more modern interpretation of Querétaro,” explains Gensler’s Michael Gatti, who led the New York-based team with assistance from Gensler’s office in Mexico City.

To begin, Gensler created a story line that spoke compellingly to Querétaro’s varied landscape and rich spirit. “We took into account the characteristics inherent in the Palacio brand—that it’s authentic, natural, classic, and modern—and how those four ideas are manifest