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Architects: OAX Arquitectos
- Area: 300 m²
- Year: 2021
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Photographs:The Raws
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Lead Architects: José García Toledo
Text description provided by the architects. Casa Majalca is a sustainable housing project in a privileged location with excellent views of rock formations characteristic of the area.
It is located in a lot with a 1: 4 ratio proportion, with a very narrow front, lacking public services (water, electricity, drainage, etc.), and with the preexistence of a couple of endemic trees that provide shade and refreshment to the ground, ending at the back with a natural ravine.
Casa Majalca is conceptualized as a sustainable vacation house equipped for temporal stays (summer and winter) that encourages outdoor activities and allows socializing with the community in the area.
The architectural program consists of bedrooms with the capacity to host a family in each one of them, using bunk beds and with a full bathroom, the rest of the house is composed of a large social area with terraces, a large storage area, and a covered space for motorcycles.
The complex is a series of staggered volumes ascending towards the center of the property, which open towards the predominant front view, configured in a zigzag manner to preserve the pre-existing trees and ending in a final isolated volume with slope to achieve the optimal orientation of the nine solar panels necessary for the energy consumption of the building. These volumes are integrated into the landscape as characteristic stone monoliths of the Majalca National Park, with a color that blends in with the land, making reference to the cultural past of the archaeological sites of Paquimé and Casas Grandes.
With the use of not specialized local labor, we bet on a concept of imperfection that gives it a rustic and brutalist character similar to that of a primary refuge or cavern, trying to emulate what it would mean to inhabit these large rocks from the inside.
The orientation of the house helps considerably to adapt to the conditions of the seasons in which it is inhabited. In winter reducing the demand for heating. And in summer, protecting it from the sun's rays with efficient thermal inertia from the use of natural cross ventilation resolved with different heights, a construction system based on insulated block walls and without thermal bridges, with a 7.5 concrete finish. cm thick on both sides. A rolled sheet roof was considered, with a slope greater than 5% for recurrent snowfalls, composed of a metallic structure, thermal insulation, and inside a reused wood ceiling, obtained from crates used to transport construction materials. For water consumption, an elevated tank is fed with well water and a biodigester was considered. To reduce water consumption, no landscaped area other than the endemic vegetation of the site was designed.
