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Architects: Jorge Bolio Arquitectura
- Area: 635 m²
- Year: 2012
Text description provided by the architects. The house is inserted in an area of 20 x 30m, within a growing residential zone in the city of Merida. Noise, a 6 levels apartment building north, and uncertainty of future neighbors led us to propose an introverted scheme, a sequence of courtyards to organize the program needs.
To the north, a narrow courtyard, shaded, allows cool wind pass through the house, while cutting the visuals from the building across the street with a “Flor de Mayo” bush curtain.
In the south, is located the courtyard for recreation. The garden, pool and terrace complement themselves in this space full of light. The block of bedrooms is a monolithic volume, sober, protecting hosts activities, creating privacy in rest areas. Strategic openings and subtractions allow natural ventilation and lighting of these areas, to relieve the high temperatures in spring and summer.
The central courtyard divides the programmatic elements, alternating light and shade zones and allowing a constant relationship with the exterior. A stone pavement, a body of ferns, a volume of water, and sky make this central area the heart of the house.
The solid volume of the upper level settles on a stone block of vertical circulation, allowing the social area to be distributed freely underneath, extending itself along the entire length of the plot and increasing the perspective of the interior spaces.
Access is via a small hallway, diluting light and visuals from the outside to the social area through a wooden lattice, conceding the living room the needs for family gatherings. The simplicity of materials allows the house to express the serenity sought by its inhabitants. The stucco block walls contrast with the stone masonry block of the staircase and a fountain in the central courtyard strengthens the sense of peace required for the shelter of this family.