Consulate Reception

Consulate Reception. The Consulate of Mexico in San Francisco at the Flood Building. Interior Design and Turn-key construction and Financing.

We worked first in 1989-1990 for the then Consul General an Ambassador Enrique Loaeza Tovar †. A good friend who asked us to look at the whole picture, how the Consulate operated and so on. Other than a few sketches we only did prospective planning.

As a result when a new Consul came in 1991-1992 Ambassador Rodulfo Figueroa Aramoni †, then Consul General of Mexico in San Francisco because we were already familiar and likewise personal friends he asked for my support.

Consulate Reception.

In the early 80’s I worked with Rudy (as his friends called him), before when I did the CONACYT (Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Technologia) in Mexico City, now the Science Museum at UNAM, CDMX. So Rudy and I were very good friends, him also being half Lebanese like myself.

Rudy called me one day to tell me he had a budget to redo de Consulate reception for security purposes only. At the time some Consulates were invaded by protesters in some Central American countries, he himself had been an Ambassador when a Embassy was taken and he had become a hostage so he was very familiar.

Given that it was near to impossible to make the Consulate Reception 100% safe, due to size, configuration and occupancy, I suggested we interpret it in a different way an approach.

Consulate Reception. The Theme.

Dignity would be our Theme and approach. If citizen enter a consulate reception of any country but inside the United States of America, the space should be of equal category in furniture, finishes and fixtures as well as in services provide equal to an American Institution.

Then it will be respected and not violated. Hence a successful project.

We decided that this criteria would work well, and we at Jerry Jacobs Design proceeded with Planing and Design Phases.

In order to extend the small budget we decided on a Lease, so we could proceed with a little more freedom.

Consulate Reception.

Prominently placed the Mexican flag and the National Hero portrait showcased so people could see and respect. High tech benches and Herman Miller Ethos space enclosures with highlights made the place look like the USA not like the typical Mexican installation at the time.

This photo shows the security camera implemented as part of our Security program. As a result most Noteworthy is security as a whole.

Consulate Reception.

The area behind the reception public services allows for interconnecting the two wings of the Consulate without employees exposure to the Public Reception Area. Consequently improving Security and as a result convenience too.

On his return to the State Department in Mexico, Ambassador Figueroa invited me to present the Prototype for use in almost all Mexican Consulates. Unfortunately he passed before we could implement the program, as a result we could not further improve or use the Prototype and we miss Rudy!

Consulate Reception