Known for “serving up great tacos + cold drinks with a totally clutch playlist,” Mexican Radio is a beacon of sunshine in the urban core of Oklahoma City’s quirky Plaza District. The owners approached Gardner with the desire to utilize an otherwise open space in a creative way while embracing the challenge of integrating a year-round patio atmosphere where one did not originally exist.

The core challenge involved utilizing the existing bones of the building and adding a kitchen. The signature rainbow roof creates an iconic experience in an already quirky space by utilizing simple colored polygal material that both doubles as a statement while solving the challenge of all-weather, open-air patio possibilities. The final solution sets the space apart in the otherwise low-slung single-story former commercial corridor.