Mexico as an independent and authoritative laboratory for the architecture of its time is not just a matter of recent years. In fact, Mexican architecture has always been contemporary, thanks to its history and the values that have underpinned it from the very beginning; and for more than a century it has exercised its authority on a global scale. It is no coincidence that names such as Luis Barragán, in the modern period, or Tatiana Bilbao more recently, are often perceived as cultural references on form and the relationship between space and humans.
15 projects that represent contemporary housing in Mexico
A selection of residential architecture published by Domus to explore the depths of a relationship with nature and history, always in search of new experiments.
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- La redazione di Domus
- 14 June 2024
Living is where these values are expressed, with ever-changing experiments, in the work of different emerging and established professional realities. It is about an organicist sensitivity to local materials, but above all to the natural resources of a landscape that suggests strategies of sustainability and comfort; it is about a quest for innovation in form, where a centuries-old depth is transported from time to time in geometric abstraction, in simplicity as the basis of a joy of living, in emphasizing a somehow plastic brutalism, or in a visual generosity that aims at uniqueness.
Individual houses, collective housing, urban landscape enriched by new episodes, social living, isolated living in contact with nature: we have selected 15 projects that illustrate such complexity among those recently published on Domus.
A house built around a void
Five meters by twenty, closed on three sides, is a stringent constraint for a lot that has to house a new villa. Even though working with empty space may appear the obliged choice to bring light and air to the interiors, the patio designed by Práctica Arquitectura fits poetically within a system of full and empty spaces that make this house in Monterrey a powerful architectural organism. In the yard, the limit between inside and outside, room and corridor, pausing and moving, seems to dissolve and succeed in generating a unified sequence of different spaces. Read more
Rough surfaces interpreting time and climate
We can start looking at House VO/WO, a project by Ludwig Godefroy Architecture studio, through the lens of a most important Mexican reference: Barragan’s houses, in their precise geometry, capable of systemizing vegetation, light, and shadow. Here, the forms of the house are almost abstract elements, in which cuts, inclinations, and openings contain continuous sequences between inside and outside. Read more
The rebirth of an eclectic villa
The restoration of Casa Mar Mediterraneo 34 is a project that focuses on the recovery of an eclectic villa built between the 19th and 20th centuries by revitalizing its image and renovating its way of living. The project envisages the restoration of the existing volume, bringing the body facing the road back to its former glory. The studio imagined rehabilitating the image and urban presence of the house, whose additions take place back in the lot. Read more
Domestic microcosms in the suburbs
Photos and drawings: © Associates Architecture
Photos and drawings: © Associates Architecture
Photos and drawings: © Associates Architecture
Photos and drawings: © Associates Architecture
Photos and drawings: © Associates Architecture
Photos and drawings: © Associates Architecture
Photos and drawings: © Associates Architecture
Photos and drawings: © Associates Architecture
Photos and drawings: © Associates Architecture
Photos and drawings: © Associates Architecture
Photos and drawings: © Associates Architecture
Photos and drawings: © Associates Architecture
Photos and drawings: © Associates Architecture
Photos and drawings: © Associates Architecture
Photos and drawings: © Associates Architecture
Photos and drawings: © Associates Architecture
Photos and drawings: © Associates Architecture
Photos and drawings: © Associates Architecture
Photos and drawings: © Associates Architecture
Photos and drawings: © Associates Architecture
In San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, Associates Architecture designs a monolithic and introverted residence, combining the typical spatialities of vernacular architecture with the sophisticated style of 20th century masters. Read More
The organic brutalism
Photo Rafael Buzali
Photo Arturo Arrieta
Photo Arturo Arrieta
Photo Arturo Arrieta
Photo Rafael Gamo
Foto Rafael Gamo
Photo Rafael Buzali
Photo Alexandra Bové
Photo Rafael Buzali
Foto Rafael Gamo
Photo Alexandra Bové
Photo Rafael Gamo
Foto Alexandra Bové
A residential complex for the middle class designed for an urban neighbourhood where to maximise volumes in response to the entrepreneurial needs of investors and reduce construction costs through current and consolidated technologies, such as in-situ cast concrete: it could sound like one of the many stories of ordinary construction narrated in cities all over the world but, in the case of this work by Young & Ayata + Michan Architecture in Mexico City, the aim has been to avoid any ordinary solution. Read more
Shared living
Photos Onnis Luque, Ariadna Polo
Drawings Reims 502
Photos Onnis Luque, Ariadna Polo
Drawings Reims 502
Photos Onnis Luque, Ariadna Polo
Drawings Reims 502
Photos Onnis Luque, Ariadna Polo
Drawings Reims 502
Photos Onnis Luque, Ariadna Polo
Drawings Reims 502
Photos Onnis Luque, Ariadna Polo
Drawings Reims 502
Photos Onnis Luque, Ariadna Polo
Drawings Reims 502
Photos Onnis Luque, Ariadna Polo
Drawings Reims 502
Photos Onnis Luque, Ariadna Polo
Drawings Reims 502
Photos Onnis Luque, Ariadna Polo
Drawings Reims 502
Photos Onnis Luque, Ariadna Polo
Drawings Reims 502
Photos Onnis Luque, Ariadna Polo
Drawings Reims 502
Photos Onnis Luque, Ariadna Polo
Drawings Reims 502
Photos Onnis Luque, Ariadna Polo
Drawings Reims 502
Photos Onnis Luque, Ariadna Polo
Drawings Reims 502
Photos Onnis Luque, Ariadna Polo
Drawings Reims 502
Photos Onnis Luque, Ariadna Polo
Drawings Reims 502
Photos Onnis Luque, Ariadna Polo
Drawings Reims 502
Photos Onnis Luque, Ariadna Polo
Drawings Reims 502
Photos Onnis Luque, Ariadna Polo
Drawings Reims 502
Photos Onnis Luque, Ariadna Polo
Drawings Reims 502
Photos Onnis Luque, Ariadna Polo
Drawings Reims 502
Photos Onnis Luque, Ariadna Polo
Drawings Reims 502
Urban densification, shared living, informal settlements, recovery of public spaces, socioeconomic changes: these are among the main topics that architects and urban planners have been addressing in Mexican cities (and peripheries) in recent years. These issues are also behind Las Hadas, a project by Reims 502, which is one of the first multi-housing buildings in the suburbs of Santiago de Querétaro, which are characterised by the prevalence of single-family homes. Read more
Warm and lively brutalism
The atmosphere in the Coyoacán district, feels like suspended in time, amidst colonial architecture and tree-lined boulevards, open-air cafés and art galleries. Here, studio Miguel de la Torre mta has designed a housing development that fits into the existing context, firmly marking its contemporary identity but transferring into the project those characteristics of relaxed tranquillity that the neighbourhood inspires. Read more
Brutalist echoes in a house-sculpture
Foto Edmund Sumner
Foto Edmund Sumner
Foto Edmund Sumner
Foto Edmund Sumner
Foto Edmund Sumner
Foto Edmund Sumner
Foto Edmund Sumner
Foto Edmund Sumner
Foto Edmund Sumner
Foto Edmund Sumner
Foto Edmund Sumner
Foto Edmund Sumner
Foto Edmund Sumner
Courtesy Lucio Muniain et al
Courtesy Lucio Muniain et al
Courtesy Lucio Muniain et al
Courtesy Lucio Muniain et al
Foto Edmund Sumner
Severe geometries, exposed concrete, dramatic chiaroscuro: Lucio Muniain et al design an apparent fortress, actually welcoming and inviting exploration. Read more
The powerful simplicity of two rural architectures
Tradition, use of local materials, and domesticity. Through two projects where simplicity is a recurring theme, Acrónimo studio has managed to interpret the rural character of the area around Montemorelos and translate it into contemporary architecture. Read more
Exposed concrete and color-blocking
Casa VA, designed by architect Omar López Bautista with his firm ET.co, is located on the Cerro del Fortín hill, within a densely built-up area of complex accessibility. The small and steep plot, with a difference in height of about 12 metres, directed the architect towards a solution with vertical development, which integrates two independent spaces: a small rental flat and a home for the clients. The project revolves around the panoramic view of the city and Monte Alban, seeking to isolate itself from its neighbours and keeping the upper flat area free, through two huajes, native trees from which Oaxaca derives its name. Read more
Holiday home contemplating nature
Photo Rafael Gamo
Photo Rafael Gamo
Photo Rafael Gamo
Photo Rafael Gamo
Photo Rafael Gamo
Photo Rafael Gamo
Photo Rafael Gamo
Photo Rafael Gamo
Photo Rafael Gamo
Photo Rafael Gamo
Photo Rafael Gamo
Photo Rafael Gamo
Photo Rafael Gamo
Photo Rafael Gamo
Photo Rafael Gamo
Photo Rafael Gamo
Photo Rafael Gamo
Photo Rafael Gamo
Photo Rafael Gamo
Photo Rafael Gamo
Photo Rafael Gamo
Photo Rafael Gamo
Photo Rafael Gamo
Photo Rafael Gamo
Surrounded by vegetation and pine trees, Zarzales is a holiday home in Valle de Bravo. The architecture, conceived by PPAA Pérez Palacios Arquitectos Asociados, allows the environment to enter, to be always present, removing all boundaries between inside and outside. Two volumes characterize the house: the first is made of a living area and a spacious patio, while the second houses the protection and intimacy of bedrooms bathrooms. Read more
A holiday home in the woods
Photo Dane Alonso
Photo Dane Alonso
Photo Dane Alonso
Photo César Béjar
Photo Dane Alonso
Photo César Béjar
Photo César Béjar
Photo Juan Pablo Guerra
Photo César Béjar
Photo César Béjar
Photo César Béjar
Photo César Béjar
Photo César Béjar
Photo César Béjar
Photo César Béjar
Photo César Béjar
Photo César Béjar
Since the early 20th century, the house in the woods has been a fertile theme for research into the relationship between architecture and landscape. A taxonomy of these buildings could classify them according to their elevation above or below, the ground: the house in the woods as an elevated stilt dwelling, tiptoeing over the intact land; or a ground-level, branched organism that surrounds and embraces existing trees; or a volume partly or entirely underground, perhaps mimicking its setting. Read more
A house with a hidden studio in the forest
Photo Raúl Meza Yarmuch
Photo Raúl Meza Yarmuch
Photo Raúl Meza Yarmuch
Photo Raúl Meza Yarmuch
Photo Raúl Meza Yarmuch
Photo Raúl Meza Yarmuch
Photo Raúl Meza Yarmuch
Photo Raúl Meza Yarmuch
Photo Raúl Meza Yarmuch
Photo Raúl Meza Yarmuch
Photo Raúl Meza Yarmuch
Photo Raúl Meza Yarmuch
Photo Raúl Meza Yarmuch
Photo Raúl Meza Yarmuch
Photo Raúl Meza Yarmuch
Photo Raúl Meza Yarmuch
Photo Raúl Meza Yarmuch
Photo Raúl Meza Yarmuch
Photo Raúl Meza Yarmuch
Photo Raúl Meza Yarmuch
Photo Raúl Meza Yarmuch
Photo Raúl Meza Yarmuch
Photo Raúl Meza Yarmuch
Photo Raúl Meza Yarmuch
Photo Raúl Meza Yarmuch
Photo Raúl Meza Yarmuch
Photo Raúl Meza Yarmuch
Photo Raúl Meza Yarmuch
Photo Raúl Meza Yarmuch
Photo Raúl Meza Yarmuch
Photo Raúl Meza Yarmuch
Photo Raúl Meza Yarmuch
Photo Raúl Meza Yarmuch
Photo Raúl Meza Yarmuch
Photo Raúl Meza Yarmuch
Photo Raúl Meza Yarmuch
Photo Raúl Meza Yarmuch
Photo Raúl Meza Yarmuch
Photo Raúl Meza Yarmuch
Photo Raúl Meza Yarmuch
Photo Raúl Meza Yarmuch
Photo Raúl Meza Yarmuch
Photo Raúl Meza Yarmuch
Casa Negra stands in the wooded area of Coatepec. A housing project developed for the wellbeing of inhabitants and natural environment. The structure, designed by ArquitectónicA (Cecilia Yarmuch + Alejandro Aguilera), was developed with the aim of not touching the local beech trees, allowing the vegetation to grow around at its own pace and favouring the ecosystem. Read more
Living in a nature reserve, between vernacular and blurred boundaries
Building in a nature reserve is almost an oxymoron but, beyond rhetorical figures and preconceived dissonances, this house in the El Torón Reserve on the coast of Oaxaca, on a 30-hectare conservation site, is an artificial element so integrated into the landscape that it seems to have always belonged there. Read more
A vacation house between mountains and ocean
Photo Rafael Gamo
Photo Rafael Gamo
Photo Rafael Gamo
Photo Rafael Gamo
Photo Rafael Gamo
Photo Rafael Gamo
Photo Rafael Gamo
Photo Rafael Gamo
Photo Rafael Gamo
Photo Rafael Gamo
Photo Rafael Gamo
Photo Rafael Gamo
Photo Rafael Gamo
Photo Rafael Gamo
Photo Rafael Gamo
Photo Rafael Gamo
Photo Rafael Gamo
Photo Rafael Gamo
Photo Rafael Gamo
Photo Rafael Gamo
Photo Rafael Gamo
Photo Rafael Gamo
Photo Rafael Gamo
Photo Rafael Gamo
Photo Rafael Gamo
Photo Rafael Gamo
Photo Rafael Gamo
Mexican studio anonimous designs a holiday house deeply imbued with references to local architecture and filled with love for its territory. Read more
A house built around trees
Building on a narrow lot, meeting the client’s need for living comfort but without cutting down a single tree: this was the challenge met by FMT Estudio in designing an intervention consisting of two residential units in an intensely built-up neighbourhood in Mérida. The long, narrow site was characterised by a dense vegetation, which the studio took care to preserve by ensuring that architecture would adapt to the existing natural context, instead of the opposite. Read more