Article source: Taller Mexicano de Arquitectura SCP
The project was born from the need to recover an old house located in the historic center of the city of Mérida, México.
Casa Deco is one of the few houses in the historic center of Merida that are characterized by having the architectural style that bears its name; This style was not the original style of the house but the result of a remodeling of the facade, so we decided to show the pre-existences both formal and functional that the house has suffered during its long life.
The design strategy of this house is based on a commitment to artisanal constructive honesty, the respect towards natural context in an urban area, and the constant search for a way of inhabiting where material austerity provides spatial quality. The main body of the house is located in the southern boundary of the land, respecting the 3 preexisting fruit trees on the north side and taking advantage of the best ventilation and natural light possible. The program, which includes 2 bedrooms, social area, a family room and services, is condensed in a monolithic block to reduce its footprint. As a main strategy, the upper roof tilts 21 degrees, growing to the north, where the rooms are located, and reduces its height to the south, where the services are located. The subtraction and rotation of a middle segment generates a shift in between the upper floor bedrooms, allowing cross ventilation, as well as the accommodation of rooftop equipment and the plumbing and electrical ducting. In section, the composition allows the circulation of north-south winds, cooling the kitchen by the escape of hot air in that space higher than the rest.
The revitalization Mérida’s historic center has brought with it a new value for built heritage, whether it be partial or total and the interventions we see today are very diverse.
Diaphanous House is an anonymous dwelling on its exterior that adapts to the contextual image of the city, returning to its original façade and joining the rhythm of mass over openings of the neighboring houses. Inside, the existing building the first bay containing the lobby and guest bedroom area is preserved. The building aims to mix two languages; one belonging to the past and the other being contemporary, resulting in our opinion, a sustainable architecture with a proper use of resources.
SONATA, as in music, is a compositional procedure that uses two contrasting themes, complexity in its unity and simplicity in its repetition.
Sonata is a quest, a constant quest to offer a unique product within a market full with similar options in size, program and price.
The client asked for the project to be “different”, but economically accessible, in which “nothing felt extra”; any material or element that he felt didn’t have a functional purpose, was going to be removed at the time of construction. With a main façade facing south, in Yucatan, we knew that the protection from the sun was a must, however, a skin or lattice was no longer an option if we wanted to achieve what the client requested; it would be necessary to find within the architectural program a way to protect the user, and at the same time, turn this resource into a fundamental one for the success of the project, which without it, the project could not work.
Raw, devoid from cosmetic elements, minimal, almost martial… this is the resulting speech that communicates our proposal for Irori Mérida. The material palette is very straight forward: stone, concrete, steel, wood and vegetation; Being the same with the color palette which is evoked by the materials for them to bring up the variety of flavors there is to taste. Using three stores of a Street Mall which was previously designed by us, we propose two concepts in the same space: a restaurant and a bar, the leading role on the first one is the Sushi Bar which poses centered in the back, for the second one, the Sake bar is located in the front which unites both concepts and a future exterior terrace. Both bars are concrete blocks covered in Oak wood using clean strokes, that are only meant to be the background of what will be served on top.
“How to create a single-family home, comfortable, functional and out of the ordinary, in a lot with dimensions of 4 x 69 meters without dying in the attempt”
This was our challenge when designing “kaleidos House”
The ratio of 1 to 17 between the length and width of the lot was not an impediment to create a unique, innovative and spatially large house that makes the materials that make up its best allies to create a contemporary proposal resulting in a functional 3 bedroom 280 sqm house.
Architecture approaches nature by rearranging its elements. In Casa Chaaltun, this conformation was an attempt to evoke and interpret the natural and cultural context of the Yucatan Peninsula, in Mexico, challenging the mainstream perception and common use of its natural materials.
To adapt the program into the lot’s geometry, it was divided into three zones: private, social and services; the volumes were designed accordingly. Four volumes are connected by a main long axis, which is the project’s spine. Two of them are solid, facing south and west, solving the privacy and, at the same time, it protects the interior and shadows the others. The remaining volumes are lightly floating, generating a double height ceiling in the ground level, facing to the northeast.
At the main entrance a double height open foyer is surrounded with plants, and a big wooden fence that serves to protects the facade against the sun rays coming from the west.
The Livingroom and dining area are continuous and looking to a huge window looking to the garden, this garden serves as the heart and the lungs of the house.
To have the social area, either its private or public, around a water element, was the fundamental premise to give relevance to the existing excavation, now empty in the topography; product of a previous project discarded once its construction started, due to its inexperience and clearly far from the user’s real interest. The water element surrounds the construction which allows its users to contemplate it from the main points of interaction on their every day.
If we talk about architecture, in recent years it seems that the trend is to use synthetic and innovative materials, which are at the same time more expensive.
Our concern for the “Raw House” project was exactly the opposite; the use natural, common and readily available materials in the city leaving them naked and exposed to appreciate their intrinsic beauty.
The first challenge came with the dimensions of plot, an urban waste resulting from a subdivided family home; the area of 6.5 x 27.5 with a west facade was not the most encouraging for housing needs.
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