When the seeds that would bloom into BoConcept were planted by cabinet makers Tage Mølholm and Jens Ærthøj, in the small Danish town of Herning in 1947, its founders could hardly have foreseen that their nascent furniture company would eventually become a global leader in contemporary Scandinavian design.
But such is the way. BoConcept now operates 300 dedicated stores in over 65 countries, and many of its pieces – from the minimal, organic and ergonomic Adelaide chair, designed by Henrik Pedersen; to Morten Georgsen's classically-inflected, ceramic-topped Santiago dining table – have become touchstones for interior designers and aesthetically minded consumers alike. Its global reach is supported by dedicated franchisers, such as Carlos Salamonovitz, who recently brought BoConcept's vision to a new residential project in Mexico City.
Shaping the skyline
Its international scope is bolstered by the expertise of its personable franchisers, of whom Carlos Salamonovitz is a fine example. Already having spearheaded the opening of four BoConcept stores in Florida, and nine in Mexico, he's now also led an elegant new build-to-rent client project, Riga Bosques, in the exclusive Mexico City municipality of Santa Fe.
Santa Fe is known for its vertiginous skyline and pioneering urban character – a vibe reflected in the duo of towers in which Riga Bosques is located.
Santa Fe is known for its vertiginous skyline and pioneering urban character – a vibe reflected in the duo of towers in which Riga Bosques is located, designed by the Mexican architect Enrique Macotela in a wilfully stark and geometrical form. BoConcept's project within comprises 110 rental apartments, created in collaboration with property developer Corporativo Kosmos and installed and decorated completely by BoConcept's Danish B2B and Mexican teams.
The plan in practice
Salamonovitz's vision was, to put it lightly, comprehensive. The tranquil, airy units – with lilting views of the metropolitan horizon – were envisioned in granular detail across furniture and accessories, even down to mattresses and tableware; while three were fully staged to be used as exemplar showrooms for the wider project. (An extra feat of impressive endurance given the practical logistics of shipping over an abundance of wares, almost all crafted in Europe.)
The tranquil, airy units – with lilting views of the metropolitan horizon – were envisioned in granular detail.
The results, as seen here, are remarkable; urbane displays of transatlantic restraint both wilfully modern and redolent of the midcentury inflections that define BoConcept's furniture – all deployed with expert consistency across 17 different kinds of apartment typology. It's a fine cherry on the top of a development already bolstered by a sprawling array of amenities: a pool, yoga centre, gym, sky lounge, co-working spaces, terraces and gardens among them.
A new precedent
Mexico's build-to-rent market is booming, explains Coporativo Kosmos project manager Juan José Lecanda. As we all well know, living through the tumult of the Covid years initiated a holistic change in people's mindsets when it came to materialism and personal belongings, as well as – with the advent of a hybrid working culture – encouraging more satisfyingly untethered lifestyles.
It's more affordable for people not to be tied to a house or to some piece of land if they plan to be moving from one city to the next.
'It's more affordable,' explains Lecanda, 'for people not to be tied to a house or to some piece of land if they plan to be moving from one city to the next.' He also acknowledges the fundamental notion of tenants being less fastidious in terms of care with their furnishings than owners might be – a particular issue when it comes to wares of the quality and design-world cache of BoConcept's. But any fears were assuaged after conversations with Salamonovitz around the brand's customer care and quality metrics.
To those ends, Riga Bosques is, undeniably, a huge success – a model for Mexico City's high-end rental market that shows, clear as day, that rarefied interior design can be as nuanced, congenial and visually engaging when deployed by a brand with a honed vision and seamless creative bona fides as it can by those inhabiting the spaces themselves. It's a concept for tomorrow, today.
