Project: Cumbres House
Architects: Taller Hector Barroso
Location: Mexico
Area: 6,824 sq ft
Photographs by: Yoshihiro Koitani
Cumbres House by Taller Hector Barroso
Located just west of Mexico City, the Cumbres House is an appealing contemporary project by Taller Hector Barroso.
This single family residence is organized around a voided area that is also the focal point. It is developed around a large interior patio and there is plenty of natural light that fills all three floors. The hardwood flooring of this rectangular concrete house and the planted trees symbolize the vacant volume.
From the architects: “Cumbres House is located inside a residential area in Santa Fe, west of Mexico City.
The project is developed around a central patio which provides different views, natural lighting and cross-ventilation to the interior spaces. This void acts as the medullar element on the design process. It is the in situ result of the restricted views, the lack of visual elements in the surroundings and the land’s unfavorable location.
The different areas of the architectural program are built around this contemplative patio. The living-dining space is set by a visual and functional continuity between interior and exterior creating the effect of the garden blending with the living and dining room, continuing to extend to the interior patio. When both fronts are completely open, natural light effects, extended views and ventilation are emphasize.
From the entrance façade, the house materiality is accentuated by a tripartite composition, recreated in a contemporary form. First, a rough and moist basing is materialized in pine wood, resembling a light plinth supporting the weight above. A raw volume on top, made of natural stone reinforces the monolithic and mineral aspect of the house.
At the end, on the third level, the roof is used as the fifth corbusian façade, where the movement of lines and lightness opposes to the inferior volume. On this last level, the only cover is a floating slab with steel beams shielding a living room with a 360 degrees view over the surrounding mounts. Again, continuity between interior and exterior is made through sliding crystal panels which grant an effect of lightness to the structure. “
