Mexican architecture studio TACO taller de arquitectura contextual has completed a new vacation house in the middle of a wild nature of Mexico. Called Monte House, the 42-square-metre vacation house offers a rustic and contemporary atmosphere with its warm color palette and natural materials applied inside.

Designed as simple and minimal as possible, it is a compact vacation home designed for a couple of young adults, immersed in the wild landscape of southeastern Mexico. The objective of the project is to achieve a reflective and contemplative place that links the occupant with the surrounding wild landscape. The house is an intuitive, functional and simple experience of living, but with great spatial warmth.

The location of the building is defined at the back of the property by issues of privacy and noise control; oriented in such a way that it works with insolation and dominant winds to achieve a comfortable indoor temperature.

The building is situated on a platform elevated of the ground level, making it difficult for undesirable animals to access, and facilitating the construction process of the pool, since the terrain is rocky and excavations were not feasible.

This was located in the shadow of a pre-existing tree, which is accessed through an open terrace, extension of the interior social area. The latter, of double height, contains a kitchenette, a living room and a staircase to reach the mezzanine that functions as a bedroom. 

Under the mezzanine there is a storage closet, a bathroom with an outdoor shower and the exterior staircase leading to the house entrance. The holding platform is used for the warehouse and the machine room. 

The architect used an orthogonal volume with contrasting materiality. The exterior and interior finish is made of a rough stucco with artisanal paint based on lime and mineral pigments. For the carpentry, folding doors with operable louvers of regional cedar wood were used, which allow users to control the level of contact between the interior and the exterior.

In the interior, the architects used design pieces in crude tones that incorporate handcrafted processes in their production. The landscape remains mostly untouched, where the rocky soil that maintains the building is manifested.

Site plan

Ground floor

Mezzanine Floor

North-east elevation

South-west elevation

Elevations

Section

Sections

All images © Leo Espinosa

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