< Go Back

Sabino 336

Sabino 336 is a new art exhibition space which opened as part of the Casa Wabi Foundation. The building was designed by the magnificent, sometimes controversial architect Alberto Kalach. It’s in the Atlampa neighborhood in what was an industrial area where many old factory buildings still stand.

The space is run by the Casa Wabi Foundation. They maintain two exhibition spaces here for works by Mexican and international artists. The space is filled with light and concrete and brick achieve a fascinating combination. Among the first artists shown were Tania Candiani and Paula Cortázar although the slate has quickly filled out. The artist Bosco Sodi, one of the founders of Casa Wabi, also maintains a studio space here.

The Casa Wabi Foundation promotes an exchange between contemporary art and local communities in three locations worldwide: in Puerto Escondido, Mexico City, and in Tokyo. The name is from the Japanese philosophy seeking beauty and harmony in the simple, the imperfect, and the unconventional.

At Sodi’s initiative, Japanese architect Tadao Ando designed the foundation headquarters in Puerto Escondido. Kalach then completed plans for a 27-hectare botanical garden there. The objective is to preserve and catalog species endemic to the area. Among these are parotas and the macuils. Kalach also designed the High Temperature Pavilion consisting of a concrete tower covered with red bricks symbolizing a chimney.

The Atlampa neighborhood began in the 1930s with early housing for railroad workers from the Tlatelolco trainyards. The proximity of the rail lines led to the establishment of a number of factories. Just north of Santa María la Ribera, best known for the Kiosco Morisco, views to the south can be taken in from the roof at Sabino 336. Even more prominently, the nearby Torre Insignia is one of the most distinctive buildings on this part of the City skyline.

Visitors usually arrive to Sabino 336 via the San Cosme or Buenavista Metro stations. Although a long stroll through Santa Maria is not out of the question, a taxi is likely necessary to reach the Atlampa neighborhood to the north.