丨墨西哥丨Claudia Rodriguez,Louise Rouzaud

Architects:Claudia Rodriguez, Louise Rouzaud

Area:380m²

Year:2024

Photographs:Ramiro Chaves, Louise Rouzaud, Estudio Ome + Maureen M. Evans

Category:Houses

Architects:Claudia Rodriguez, Louise Rouzaud

Landscape Desgin:Estudio OME

Construction:Max Garcia

City:Tehuastepec

Country:Mexico

Text description provided by the architects. The house is located within an ecological reserve near Valle de Bravo in the State of Mexico. It is composed of independent volumes positioned at different levels of the land to take advantage of the views and maximize the facades with southern orientation. This layout allows for multiple pathways. At the highest point of the land are the three main volumes of the house, which form an interior garden that opens up to the mountain. The rest of the program is situated among gardens and has a more private character. Each of the inhabited spaces has a hallway or an access patio, which serve as transition spaces between the forest and the house, and also feature covered terraces and gardens that extend the house outward.

The buildings are single-story, playing with flat and sloped roofs that emphasize horizontal lines and connection with the forest. The stone bases extend across the land as low dry stone walls, also known as tecorrales. The tecorrales weave through the architecture and accentuate the horizontal lines of the project. They follow the contour lines, accompany the paths that articulate the different elements of the house, and connect with the landscape. At their edge, in addition to planting fruit trees, shrubs, and native plants, trenches were created to channel water.

The primary material of the house is earth, in an effort to return to local resources. The walls are made of "machimblock," blocks of raw earth that interlock with each other, providing great thermal and acoustic quality to the spaces. Traditional plastering with earth and nopal mucilage was done on the exteriors, while the interiors are covered with lime stucco and pigments of various shades. Some interior walls, such as those of the sauna and wine cellar, feature wood paneling. The floors are made of carved stone, brick, and reused wood from the formwork of the same construction. The structure of the sloped roofs is made of pine wood, covered with clay tiles. Pigmented concrete made with site soil was used for the slabs, columns, and closure beams that protect the walls.

Sustainable systems such as solar energy generation and water treatment and reuse complement the design. Rainwater is collected and stored from the roofs for use in the house, and any excess is directed to the natural pool located at the lowest part of the land, which, besides being a key element of the landscape, completes the comprehensive water management.

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