Casa Ceniza丨墨西哥墨西哥城

Architects:TACO taller de arquitectura contextual

Area:626m²

Year:2026

Photographs:Manolo R. Solís

Lead Architect:Carlos Patrón Ibarra

Category:Houses

Design Team:Kristell Guillen, Daniel Ruíz

City:Ciudad de México

Country:Mexico

Text description provided by the architects. Casa Ceniza is a single-family home conceived as a massive geometric volume that protects itself from the street while creating an internal landscape of patios, water, and vegetation. Closed off from the outside and open to gardens and interior patios, the house proposes an introspective architecture where spaces are gradually revealed along the journey.

Access occurs through a transition patio where the sky, vegetation, a fountain, and volcanic gravel prepare the inhabitant for the interior experience. The sound of the stones underfoot accompanies this initial moment of the journey, introducing a sensory dimension that emphasizes the introspective character of the home. From this point, a double-door vestibule marks the entrance and anticipates the tone of the project.

A longitudinal axis organizes the house and articulates the distribution of spaces. Along this path, visual highlights direct attention toward patios, gardens, and pieces from the owners’ art collection, creating a spatial sequence that invites exploration and progressive discovery of the home.

The social area develops around a double-height space with an indoor pool. The overhead light and reflections from the water define the character of the environment, while the interior patios allow for controlled entry of vegetation, light, and natural ventilation, responding to the climate and generating spaces for contemplation.

The kitchen, designed as a semi-public space, serves as a transition between the social areas and the more intimate zones of the house, linking the garage, service area, and a ground-floor bedroom. At this point, vertical circulation is also integrated, connecting to the upper floor and reinforcing the role of the kitchen as a hub within the home.

On the upper floor, there are two bedrooms, a gym, a laundry room, and a terrace. Each space is oriented to take advantage of natural light and establish visual connections with the interior patios, maintaining spatial continuity and a sense of openness toward the interior of the house.

The materiality of the project combines serrated concrete painted black, stucco with integrated black pigment, and cedar wood. The volcanic gravel is part of the construction language and appears in various elements of the project: in outdoor patios, integrated into site-cast concrete, and in the texture of the serrated walls. This mineral presence adds texture and depth to the surfaces while defining the chromatic foundation of the project.

Against this dark, mineral palette, some walls in Mexican pink and jacaranda color introduce specific chromatic accents that contrast with the sobriety of the volume. Complementarily, windows with yellow glass filter natural light and project warm tones indoors, generating luminous variations throughout the day.

Vegetation brings contrast and softness to the ensemble through green foliage and lavender blooms that integrate into the interior patios.

Casa Ceniza is built upon the control of light, spatial introspection, and materiality. The dimness protects privacy, the overhead light emphasizes the main spaces, and the patios articulate the relationship between interior and exterior. Throughout the journey, architecture, art, and landscape naturally integrate into the everyday life of the house.

Project gallery