Project: Watchman House
Architects: COA Arquitectura
Location: Aguascalientes, Mexico
Area: 926 sf
Year: 2021
Photographs by: César Béjar Studio
Watchman House by COA Arquitectura
The Watchman House, designed by COA Arquitectura in Aguascalientes, Mexico, is a compact dwelling for the watchman and his family. Despite its small size, the house aims to provide a dignified and comfortable home using minimal elements. The construction process emphasizes speed and efficiency, utilizing a common construction system in Jalisco.
The exterior of the house presents itself as a closed monolithic box, but it opens up to an interior patio that serves as the social area. The entry is defined by a low wall, a steel fence, and a concrete canopy, creating a welcoming transition from the exterior. A steel beam interrupts the concrete joists, creating a double-height space around the stair opening and adding a sense of dignity to the upper floor. Warmth is brought into the space through pine wood dividing walls before entering the bedrooms.
House for the watchman and his family with a living room, dining, kitchen, two bedrooms a bathroom, and a laundry patio positioned in a corner lot of 62 square meters.
On one hand, a house was sought that with very few elements could be appropriated by a family as a dignified home, and on the other hand be able to build it in the fastest and most efficient way possible with the constructive system.
The walls on the lower and upper level are colored integrated apparent blocks, jalcreto and concrete joists slabs (a common construction system in Jalisco), polished concrete floors, pine wood dividing walls, and steel window frames.
The house is shown as a monolithic box closed to the exterior; however, it is opened to an interior patio for the social area. A low wall, a steel fence, and an apparent concrete canopy vestibule the entry from the exterior.
The stair opening interrupts the concrete joists with a steel beam and produces a double-height space that dignifies going upstairs where the pine wood dividing walls give warmth to the vestibular space before entering both bedrooms.
The laundry patio is veiled with a lower wall and is semi-covered by the same continuous canopy from the entryway. Through the modulation, meeting of the elements, and the play between textures and materials, we sought to achieve both the greatest simplicity and spatial quality.
