Mediterranean interiors, from Paris and Mexico City
From Paris and Mexico City, Atelier Cantera works internationally: private residences, boutique hotels and Mediterranean villas, from the Côte d'Azur to the Balearics, with projects also built in Shanghai and the Gulf.
Atelier Cantera was founded in 2024 by Gabriel Chaussée Jiménez and William Wu, two architects, one in Paris, the other in Shanghai. French-Mexican, trained at the École Spéciale d'Architecture in Paris, Gabriel worked on prestige hospitality projects internationally and practised in Japan before founding the studio. He now works between the cut stone of Parisian buildings and the volcanic cantera of Mexican houses, from which the studio takes its name.
The studio asserts a sober hand, born of a dialogue between three building cultures that do not resemble one another but answer one another: the rigour of French construction, the mineral presence of Mexican architecture, the precision of Chinese workshops. From it comes a taste for materials both raw and refined, and an attention to volume, proportion and light.
Send us the listing before you make an offer. We will tell you in writing what the site allows, what it rules out, and what it realistically costs to build there.
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Journal
Turnkey villa renovation: French Riviera and Costa del Sol
How a turnkey renovation is run from abroad: decision gates, site reports, local trades and the calendar of a Mediterranean villa project, season by season.
Stone, lime and light: Mediterranean architecture materials
The materials that make a Mediterranean villa work: local stone, lime render, terracotta and shade. How each behaves in summer heat, and what each costs to keep.
The elements of contemporary Mediterranean villa design
Courtyards, wall thickness, cross ventilation and indoor-outdoor living: the design elements that define a contemporary Mediterranean villa, and why they endure.