Description

This project arises from two guiding conditions: first, the intention to consolidate itself as a guest house having a previous project to which it is subtly integrated, and second, the relationship by contrast between the location, the volumetric arrangement and the free areas against the built spaces. It is in itself a recognition of the commitment of the entire team that was involved in a first project with the clients, who at the time requested the design and construction of their house and then established contact again in order to entrust a guest house on a plot of land attached to the property of their home.

Recognizing this great opportunity and, above all, the commitment to further endorse the experience of solving the needs of clients through architecture, the new design was formulated under premises framed in the previously mentioned guiding ideas, as well as the guarantee of being able to create the same atmospheres and spatial quality in the face of a significant change in scale or a different vocation to that of the main house.

In this way, this project is integrated in terms of its materials and colours with the predecessor project, i.e. flattened white stucco, enclosure stone as covering and wood as a second skin, perceiving itself as a single whole. Then, it is distinguished by a volumetric relationship that integrates a horizontal body – converted into a continuous ribbon between roof, wall and floor - in which the architectural program is incorporated on a first level, contrasting with an almost hermetic vertical prism that contains the vertical circulation that intercommunicates all the levels of the project, as well as the main access framed by another horizontal prism, a continuation of the ribbon that integrates the slab.

Finally, a void-volume relationship that allows it to be configured into three zones at the transversal level of the project: an esplanade in front of the property to integrate the access area at street level; the body with the living spaces that is planted above a street level and finally, the free area that integrates the pool and a garden that descends to the lowest part of the property.

In this way, the volume that articulates the two large free areas – which represent almost 50% of the property – houses a guest bathroom, kitchen, living room, dining room, terrace, two bedrooms (one facing the access, the other towards the pool) and a shared bathroom that merges these areas as a central node. Throughout this space, on one hand, the openings that frame the entrances of natural light into the public area dominates, and on the other hand, the wooden coatings that mimic the accesses to the room area, allowing this entire space to be perceived with great spaciousness and warmth, defining the level of privacy of each of the sectors.

Taken to the point of surprise, the color stands out in the carpentry of the rooms: yellow is used to give a luminous and intense explosion to both bedrooms without losing the sophisticated and elegant atmosphere that accentuates the marble floor that is integrated into walls and countertops in the bathroom as well as, the spatial amplitude that is multiplied through the mirrors with a particular emphasis on the lighting of the geometries produced from the exploded drawings to the articulation in the changes of materials that accentuate the circulation or function of each of the spaces in ribbons, understanding their qualities as a subtle response of the interior design.

On the lower level that you do not perceive from the street, there is a guest bathroom, a games room, storage spaces and a covered bar counter that serves as a support area for the pool which dominates the space due to the relationship it maintains with the garden which descends to the lowest point of the land. At a central point, there is a volume of enclosure containing a bathroom. This area, which is the area with the greatest public activity, can be considered the heart of the project from which all the functions are solved and the experience of the inhabitant is prioritized.

Designed

2023

Completed

2023

Technical data

Category: Residential
Location: Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico
Year: 2023
Status: Completed
Project: BCA Taller de Diseño
Team: Arq. Francisco Cruz, Arq. Beatriz Bello, Arq. Carlos Carreño, Arq. De Int. Karime Arellano.
Interior Design and Lighting Design: BCA Taller de Diseño
Built-up area: 353.75 sq m
Ground area: 686.62 sq m
Photography: Marcos Betanzos

Project team

BCA Taller de Diseño
Arq. Francisco Cruz, Arq. Beatriz Bello, Arq. Carlos Carreño, Arq. De Int. Karime Arellano.