As a teenager, Ignacio Urquiza traveled with his father, a photographer, as he captured images of the houses, food, and culture of Mexico’s Pacific coast. Often, “the houses were just pergolas and terraces,” he remembers. In a place that’s always hot, with little rain six months of the year, minimal enclosure was the best strategy. The Mexico City–based architect kept that in mind when he designed Casa en El Torón on a particularly beautiful—and rugged—private reserve of the same name in the state of Oaxaca, overlooking Playa Ventanilla. “The site is magnificent,” says Urquiza. “Everything we did was driven by respect for it.”

Photo © Onnis Luque, click to enlarge.