Architects: Apaloosa Estudio de Arquitectura y Diseño
Year: 2015
Photographs: Carlos Berdejo Mandujano
Manufacturers: Cemex, Cemix, Comex, Cuprum, Helvex, Llano de la Torre, Mabe
Project Architect: Luis Armando Gómez Solorzano
Design: Arq. Daniel Guadalupe Terán Orozco
Drawings: Arq. Xochitl Abigaíl López Trujillo
Structural Design: Apaloosa Estudio de Arquitectura y Diseño
Structural Development: Alexander Coutiño de los Santos
Renderings: Arq. Carlos Mario Pereyra Zenteno
City: Tuxtla Gutiérrez
Country: Mexico
The personality of this home reflects its regional and bioclimatic context, and consistently displays constructive honesty in the elements and materials used.
Set on a property measuring 7.00 x 15.00 meters, it has a single eastern-facing façade and is surrounded by public housing. Although the house was constructed with few financial resources, its contextual study was intensive and formal. One of the main studies in this home involved natural light, and maximizes the skylight openings in the bathrooms, vertical circulation and the area above the double height ceiling in the dining room, where the silhouettes of the brick vaults are projected against a canvas of exposed polished concrete.
The project concept is based on the context study, so both the site and its resources were the guiding principles behind the proposal. They produced a character and identity that the state of Chiapas has lost in its need for housing and its promoters. The brick walls and coverings, and the exposed concrete throughout the entire lower level, served as a structural solution for the foundation. These same references are the source of its identity and echo traditional construction methods from the region.
The technique of leaving the concrete and brick exposed provide a window into the development and design of the structures. For example, the brick vaults rest upon IPR beams at double height, supported by a wall of exposed concrete. The concept of a double height space within the limitations of the property presented both a design challenge and satisfaction, because it did not require the sacrifice of other spaces.
