Architects: Hernández Silva Arquitectos Location: Zapopan, México Architect In Charge: Jorge Luis Hernández Silva Design Team: Alejandro Aponte Gómez, Andrea Assad Álvarez Project Year: 2012 Project Area: 584 sqm Photographs: Carlos Díaz Corona
This irregular ground is located in a small place to the west limits of the city. It is a very peaceful and neighbors want to have a good urban environment: wooded, quiet, and free from cars on the streets. Customers asked us to develop a comfortable, convenient and pleasant home, which forced us to be very strict with the uses of each space and the functionality of the home.
The location of the house has two boundary sides. These two boundaries have a “boomerang” shape, which increased the perimeter between the house and the patio. This kind of shape comes from a large bent body located behind a powerful wall that shelters the house, which is covered in gray stone and floats over a wall made of strips of black quarry. The distribution of the areas is simple: in a semibasement you can find the garage and the service area. On the ground floor is the day area, which is connected to the night area through one vertical circulation.
Upon entering the house, the visitor is greeted by a double-height interior patio, where a tree of 6m generates a very quiet atmosphere. Behind this tree is located the only staircase that connects the three levels. The location is east-west, so that in front of the house it was placed a lattice, that allows a connection with the wooded area of the alley and that gives privacy to the inside. Spaces are almost exempt from walls, the living and dining room are joined in a large space that fully opens to the outside through windows.
The terrace is located at an intermediate point between the kitchen and the day area, but it seems to extend up to the bottom of the garden so to have a direct relation with the pool. To the west we have balanced the strong afternoon sun with ruffles and a wall. In the second level, everything is communicated through a simple corridor where the rooms are located.
The house is built upon simple materials, white steel, enameled aluminum, laminated gray stone of St. Andrew, american quarry black strip, walnut wood and tempered glass. The interiors of bathrooms and service areas are coated with porcelain. We used high-gloss lacquered walls to add depth and sparkle the house, also we placed generous skylights in various places in order to keep the house lighted.
