Terreno House
200best ES
Fernanda Canales
2018
Type
Single family house
Tags
new ecological paradigm, new lifestyles, contemporary courtyards, 200Best
Visitability
Not allowed
Description
The house is located on a mountain three hours away from Mexico City and addresses two apparently contradictory conditions: seclusion and aperture. First, it is a shelter that protects against the radical weather -where the temperature can vary up to 30 degrees Celsius in one day and rain is predominant during half of the year-, and second, it opens as much as possible to the surrounding landscape. Its walls act as membranes, across two temperate zones (forest and prairie), two seasons (dry and wet) and three spatial conditions (center, inside and outside).The project develops around four “patios” or courtyards. The first patio, with a curved shape, acts as a transition space between the exterior and the entrance; the second is located at the center of the project and acts as a transition space between public and private areas; the third leads to the terraces at the rooftop; and the fourth provides privacy, ventilations and sun to the service area. These four patios create different atmospheres within a vast landscape and frame specific views of the exterior. Each space is directly related to at least one patio on one side and to the open landscape on the other, allowing for cross-ventilation and sunlight during the whole day. The house provides a dual condition reflected on the materials: brick on the outside, and concrete and wood on the inside. The red color and the rough texture of broken brick on the outside accentuate a completely different condition than the smooth and neutral interior. A series of vaults over the bedrooms and living room create a new topography in the exterior that coexists with the vegetation of the flat roofs that house service areas.The project allows varied sequences and openings, sometimes through lattices that create privacy, sometimes through large windows that can open fully and hide inside the walls in order to transform interior spaces as open terraces, and sometimes through windows that frame particular views.(Description provided by Fernanda Canales)