Casa Bell-Lloc is a concrete house featuring expansive coastal views and a swimming pool that reaches toward the sea.

Architecture Firm: Studio Saxe
Location: Santa Teresa, Puntarenas
Date of Completion: 2020
Client: Fran Machado and Niko Voorspols
Area: 500m2 Aprox.
Design Director: Benjamin G. Saxe
Builder: Jose Francisco Vásquez Navarro
Structural Engineer: Sotela Alfaro Ltda.
Electromechanical Engineer: CIEM
Photographer: Andres Garcia Lachner

About Studio
Benjamin G. Saxe set up his own practice in San Jose, Costa Rica in 2004, with the aim of exploring our relationship with the natural environment through architecture. Since then, Studio Saxe has grown into an award-winning international practice made up of a multidisciplinary team, creating buildings and spaces by blending technological innovation with handcrafted techniques to form truly sustainable designs.

Founded on the belief that buildings must connect to their landscape – whether a tropical paradise or a concrete jungle – Studio Saxe brings a global attitude to solve local problems.

Ideas and techniques from around the world can be harnessed to benefit communities, both at home and abroad. Local traditions and identities are explored and developed, ensuring a process whereby we learn from the past and build for the future.

The dedicated architects and designers at Studio Saxe uncover new design solutions for every project, treating each building as an opportunity to improve methods and approaches, responding to specific places. Working alongside clients and collaborators, the studio continually seeks new forms and functions that blur the boundaries between natural habitats and inhabited space.

This house, which is roughly L-shaped in design, is snuggled into a hillside plot overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
This house, which is roughly L-shaped in design, is snuggled into a hillside plot overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
On the top floor, there is an open-plan kitchen, dining area, and living room with a view of the sea, as well as a master suite and a carport.
On the top floor, there is an open-plan kitchen, dining area, and living room with a view of the sea, as well as a master suite and a carport.
The pool is separated from the interior living space by a folding, transparent door. A hole in the roof allows direct sunlight to fall on the turquoise ocean.
The pool is separated from the interior living space by a folding, transparent door. A hole in the roof allows direct sunlight to fall on the turquoise ocean.
At the core of the ground floor is a narrow swimming pool that cantilevers over the hillside and gestures toward the sea.
At the core of the ground floor is a narrow swimming pool that cantilevers over the hillside and gestures toward the sea.
The bottom level houses the en-suite bedrooms and service quarters, and a sliding wall allows the interior spaces to flow straight onto glass-lined terraces.
The bottom level houses the en-suite bedrooms and service quarters, and a sliding wall allows the interior spaces to flow straight onto glass-lined terraces.
The lush plants are visible through a bathroom window, the bathroom features neutral colors and natural materials.
The lush plants are visible through a bathroom window, the bathroom features neutral colors and natural materials.
An outside living room near to the swimming pool with views of the Pacific Ocean, the inclined overhanging roof that helps shade various portions of the house.
An outside living room near to the swimming pool with views of the Pacific Ocean, the inclined overhanging roof that helps shade various portions of the house.
A concrete stairs connecting the private and public spaces.
A concrete stairs connecting the private and public spaces.
The warm-toned teak eaves provide visual contrast with concrete surfaces.
The warm-toned teak eaves provide visual contrast with concrete surfaces.
The house has two stories and is roughly L-shaped in plan. When arriving from the road, the lower section is wedged into the hillside and is not visible.
The house has two stories and is roughly L-shaped in plan. When arriving from the road, the lower section is wedged into the hillside and is not visible.
The outer walls are composed of concrete, which was chosen for its strength as well as its ability to keep the interior cool.
The outer walls are composed of concrete, which was chosen for its strength as well as its ability to keep the interior cool.
A house built in topographic settings located in the forest that gives the appearance of a one-story house from the street but reveals its real size once inside.
A house built in topographic settings located in the forest that gives the appearance of a one-story house from the street but reveals its real size once inside.
The sub-level architectural plan of Casa Bell-Lloc.
The sub-level architectural plan of Casa Bell-Lloc.
Architectural plan level 1 of Casa Bell-Lloc.
Architectural plan level 1 of Casa Bell-Lloc.
Section plan B of Casa Bell-Lloc.
Section plan B of Casa Bell-Lloc.
Section plan C of Casa Bell-Lloc.
Section plan C of Casa Bell-Lloc.
Elevation plan C of Casa Bell-Lloc.
Elevation plan C of Casa Bell-Lloc.

Overview
Tropical Concrete House frames ocean views in Costa Rica beach town.

Studio Saxe was commissioned to design a home perched on the hilltops of the town of Santa Teresa in Costa Rica. Due to the extreme pitch of the terrain, we decided to sink the private areas of bedrooms into the ground and thus allow the main living area to have the best expansive views on top with floating terraces and pool.

Benjamin G. Saxe founder and Design Director of Studio Saxe explains: “This project is a testament of how concrete can be used in Tropical Architecture to achieve low maintenance and longevity without loosing openness and deep connections to nature beyond.”

Concept
In order to adapt to the topographic conditions, Studio Saxe decided to “push” the house into the ground thus creating the illusion of a one-story house from the street and only revealing its true size once inside. A series of concrete walls shield the house and disguise what will later become a powerful choreographed entrance reveal of the pool and ocean beyond.

Design
By keeping the public living spaces above and the more intimate bedrooms below, Studio Saxe used the innate characteristics provided by the site to determine the use of spaces. Every space that touches the ground is more solid and enclosed, and in contrast every space above ground is open and ephemeral. A long overarching roof line protects the house and frames a feature entrance pool that cantilevers over the jungle.

Construction
The clients of this home were clear from the beginning that they wanted most of the home to be built in concrete for longevity, less maintenance, and thermal mass during the hot months of the year. The challenge was to also create open spaces in the living areas with long span concrete beans and a light roof that allows for cross ventilation during the rainy and humid months of the year. The result is a series of retaining walls below that house private spaces and beams and columns above that open to the majestic ocean view.

Sustainability
As we develop the language of architecture at Studio Saxe, we understand that the impact of construction methods and materials is a big factor in the maintenance and longevity of a building in the tropics. This house sets a new direction where a modern long-lasting material like concrete can be profusely used throughout without losing basic bioclimatic principles of tropical design such as long roof eaves, cross

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