Casa Nido

Located in a private residential area in the north of Mérida, NIDO is a home designed for a new stage of life: a space for rest and family gatherings. Designed to evoke a sense of refuge and belonging, the house prioritizes conviviality and flexibility, allowing residents to experience it intimately in daily life while maintaining the spaciousness and versatility needed to host extended family.

From its conception, the project aimed to balance privacy and openness. Its layout responds to a rectangular plot with a north-south orientation, where the main façade, more enclosed, protects itself from the southern sun, while the social areas open to the north and east, capturing the prevailing winds and framing the relationship with nature.

The entrance hall is a large open-air patio, designed as a transitional space between public and private realms. This patio, together with the double-height social area, allows for a versatile configuration: enclosed and air-conditioned for the hottest days, or fully open to integrate with the surrounding vegetation, creating a covered terrace-like atmosphere where cross-ventilation ensures thermal comfort without the need for air conditioning.

The family room is the heart of the house. Conceived as a space for gathering and relaxation, it can be spatially connected to the master bedroom, reinforcing the idea of a flexible home that adapts to different stages of life. The master bedroom, with its double-height design, captures the morning light in its entirety, visually connecting to the patio and enhancing the sense of spaciousness.

To optimize daily living, the secondary bedrooms are located on the upper floor, allowing the home to be primarily experienced on a single level without feeling empty, as these rooms are designated for visiting family members who do not reside in the house.

Although the plot had no pre-existing vegetation, the house was designed to establish a strong connection with nature. From the entrance, a large poplar tree frames the arrival through a zahuán, acting as the first threshold between the city and the home. This gesture is reinforced with native species such as chakás and balchés, which not only create a green privacy screen but also evoke a sense of rootedness in the Yucatecan landscape.

In terms of materials, an extensive use of a chukum substitute was chosen, applied to walls and ceilings to maintain a warm and continuous texture throughout the spaces. On the façades, small-format Santo Tomás stone pays homage to its historical use in past decades, establishing a subtle dialogue between contemporary design and the memory of those who inhabit the house.

The main façade, solid and enclosed, is designed to create a sense of surprise upon crossing the entrance threshold. Behind this initial barrier, the house opens up entirely, blurring the boundaries between indoors and outdoors, allowing the architecture to function as a great nest—a refuge designed to embrace and bring people together.

Architecture Firm: Arkham Projects
Architects in Charge: Benjamín Peniche Calafell / Jorge Duarte Torre
Construction: Concretum
Photography: Manolo Solis