submerges Archives

An A-Frame with a terrace overlooking the forest

Local studio Pérez Palacios Arquitectos Asociados has completed a wooden A-Frame house with underground bedrooms in a forested area outside Mexico City.

Nestled in the forest of Valle de Bravo, the residence has two volumes stacked on top of one another, with public areas above ground and private ones below.

On the ground level, the A-Frame structure contains a semi-open living and dining room, kitchen, and family room, with a minimal footprint to create space for a terrace. The A-Frame structure consists of pre-fabricated elements brought to the site.

The top and sides of the A-Frame are enclosed in glass, as is the space at the back of the structure. An outdoor pool and lounge area were placed on the terrace to bring occupants closer to the surrounding forest and to take advantage of the large base where the underground aspects are located.

A large dining table underneath an A-frame structure — The residence is made of two perpendicularly stacked volumes

“The main goal of this project was to give more importance to the surroundings present and to the open space given, embracing the idea of emptiness even with the possibility of having the architecture disappear,” Pérez Palacios Arquitectos Asociados (PPAA) founder Pablo Pérez Palacios told Dezeen.

A submerged staircase on the terrace leads to the lower level, which contains three bedrooms, each with a private bath, and a small study.

A kitchen with a large black cabinet unit — The A-Frame structure contains the house’s public areas like a kitchen and living room

The sleeping areas were buried into the ground, with windows facing out and privacy offered by the surrounding trees.

“This design method gives you the possibility to really disconnect while enjoying your own solitude in the surrounding nature, gently forcing you to have that moment of relationship with the site, even if you’re just going to bed,” said Pérez Palacios

A long rectangular structure placed beneath an A-Frame — The rectangular structure beneath the A-Frame contains the house’s private sleeping areas

The black finish on the exterior of the lower volume and the dark roof tiles were selected to help the home blend into the environment.

“The palette focuses on one core material – certified timber – to convey a sense of admiration and respect for the home’s surroundings,” said Pérez Palacios.

“Whilst the stainless steel, onyx joinery and hand-finished walls are used to evoke an unpretentious sensibility and as I would say ‘give prominence to the forest’.”

Rainwater is collected from the pitched roof, which is then ushered into an open water deposit for reuse.

In addition to rainwater collection, the open-air A-Frame structure also works to filter light and passively ventilate the house.

To further reduce the impact on site, the studio only removed one tree which it repurposed as a handrail on the terrace.

A bed in a room with a large window and light wood paneled walls — The underground bedrooms were designed to feel enclosed by the surrounding forest

The interiors were adorned in natural materials in neutral tones, with certified wood used also on the interior walls.

Other residential projects around Mexico City include a home with a dramatic cantilever by LBR&A and an expansive holiday home with a sunken living room by Romero de la Mora.

The photography is by Rafael Gamo.

Reference

Warm-toned bedroom with timber wardrobe and floor-to-ceiling windows looking onto rocky terrain

Local architecture studio PPAA has completed the Echegaray house in the State of Mexico, which features bedrooms looking out to the rocky excavated ground and a communal living space on the top floor with panoramic views.

PPAA created the Mexican house to appear like a black stone rising from the rocky terrain.

Topped with a wooden pavilion, the Echegaray house has a reversed layout compared to typical houses, with communal spaces on the top floor and bedrooms on the floor below.

The stone terrain surrounding the bedrooms helps to add a sense of privacy and connection to nature.

A dark empty room with floor-to-ceiling window looking onto rocky terrain — Private spaces are located on the lower floor levels

Living and dining areas are on the top floor, inside the wooden structure where large glass sliding doors let in natural light and allow for panoramic views of the surrounding landscape.

“The house breaks with the construction paradigms of the area, where the usual thing is to place the public area on the ground floor and the private area on the upper level,” PPAA founding partner and creative director Pablo Pérez Palacios told Dezeen.

Open-plan kitchen with a timber roof structure and blue kitchen units — The top floor has a wooden structure

“Based on the topographic understanding of the land, as well as the analysis of the context, we decided to invert this arrangement of the programme, which allowed us to provide more privacy to the rooms and grant a panoramic view of that part of the city to the public area, which is turned into a lookout,” Palacios continued

“The house is like a mountain that you have to climb to finally appreciate and discover the view that the project gives you.”

The ground floor, which contains car parking, is finished in grey tones while the floor above where the bedrooms are is finished in warmer colours.

A skylight over the staircase illuminates the circulation space, which guides visitors to the public and social spaces on the top floor without having to move through the more private floor levels.

Terrace with large sliding glass doors leading to an open-plan living room with a white sofa and timber roof structure — Communal areas on the top floor have large glass sliding doors

“The project is a transition of atmospheres, you go from privacy to common, from darkness to light,” said the architect.

The ground floor and first floor are constructed from concrete block walls and according to the Palacios, excavation of the site was kept minimal.

Roof terrace with black dining table and chairs — The openness of the top floor stands in contrast with the lower floor levels surrounded by stone

“In terms of construction, this programme arrangement allowed us to make a minimal excavation on the site, while at the same time making the natural terrain part of the rooms and their natural landscape,” said Palacios.

“This also made the construction of the house more efficient, and in ecological terms, contributed to reducing CO2 emissions.”

PPAA, which stands for Pérez Palacios Arquitectos Asociados, has completed a number of homes in Mexico, including a pair of houses with large glass doors opening onto patio spaces and a home clad in board-formed coloured concrete.

The photography is by Fernando Marroquin.

Reference

submerges

PPAA submerges bedrooms underneath A-Frame house in Mexico City

PPAA submerges bedrooms of Mexican house into stony terrain

Get in touch

about us

Company info

Useful Links

Newsletter