taller paralelo - Cachai House
  1. Home
  2. Award 2019
  3. House
  4. Cachai House

Cachai House

taller paralelo

House  /  Completed
taller paralelo
The project for Cachai House started when the client acquired an abandoned old house from the 1960’s, located in one of the most desired urban areas at Mexico City. The main idea was to take advantage as possible from the structural elements of the original house to make it profitable and integrate it again to the neighborhood, adapting to the contemporary conditions of XXI century.

The main entrance is through a large corridor, at the end of which a water body, a void open to the sky and a levitating stair create different effect of shadows and reflections. This lobby, is complemented with different pieces of art that make this space an open gallery. It needs to be mentioned that all along the house the art is present.

At this level, a multiuse space with total independence, used as suite and playroom, is located just below the big garden, that is watered through the water obtained from the process of the waste water treatment plant and the recollection and purification water plant. Reasons why in rainy seasons, the family don’t have needing of use the water connection of the city.

The garden is located in front on the site and the building area of the house at the bottom, these gives at the street level a discreet façade that fits with the typology and density of the neighborhood.

At the first level, there’re the public and service areas, such as the living space with a terrace that gives to the garden mentioned before, and with a small backyard —the central axis for ventilation and natural light to the interior spaces— with a water element and a Japanese guava tree.

As told previously, the structure was respected, that premise generated a half levels design; a lead role in microclimate terms, cause them allows that each level has a terrace for the cross ventilation and natural lighting, in addition to give the spaces generous views to create a real connection with the outside; taking advantage of the context. Through the second level there are distributed the dining room, the kitchen and the bedrooms. The third level is characterized for be used as a recreational space for lecture, work and rest.

The house was thought as a self-sufficient and ecological house providing the design with new technologies as solar energy, rain harvesting system and sewage treatment plant. That corresponds also to the ecofriendly vision of the family, where they have conceived this space to take advantage from the garden and terraces to cultivate and create a little urban garden of vegetables and some other flowers and herbs.

Finally, the principal materials were the concrete, the wood, the water and the vegetation, enough to obtain an ecofriendly space with a design that respond to the family requirements. A place that is a reflection of the objective conversation between the architects and client, during the process design and the construction.

Credits

 Mexico City
 Mexico
 Private
 04/2018
 770 mq
 César Flores, Mikel Merodio
 Paola Ampudia, Diana Torres, Omar Cejudo, Martín Rodríguez, Nadia Martínez
 taller paralelo
 Lighting: G-Tech/ Landscape:Alux / Structural Engineering: Cafel / Rain Harvesting: SPL / Water Treatment: TIM / Solar Energy: Solar City
 Rafael Gamo

Curriculum

taller paralelo, is an architectural office leaded by César Flores and Mikel Merodio, established in 2015 at Mexico City. The studio focus on the development of designs that capture the creativity and ideas of the 21st century, applying them to their designs. They have built proposals of different scales and variants of context (physical, economic, social) allowing them to experiment with an open and proactive approach.

The have been awarded in 2018 with the Silver Medal at the XV Biennial of Mexican Architecture in the category of Sustainable construction and with the Gold Medal at the WWAID World Wide Alliance of Interior Designers 2018, being recognized as the Revelation of the Year in North America.

https://www.tallerparalelo.mx/


© Maggioli SpA • THE PLAN • Via del Pratello 8 • 40122 Bologna, Italy • T +39 051 227634 • P. IVA 02066400405 • ISSN 2499-6602 • E-ISSN 2385-2054