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Location: Valle de Bravo, Mexico

Project size: 7,400 square feet

Program: La Colorada is a weekend getaway for a young family living in Mexico City.

Design Solution: By siting the house within an existing tree clearing, Pablo Pérez Palacios and his team of designers were able to tread lightly in a densely wooded area. La Colorada’s volumetric organization and materiality also dampen its visual footprint, allowing it to recede into the natural landscape.

The retreat is organized into two levels: an upper-story, open-air A-frame that encloses living and dining spaces, which is set atop a lower-story plinth of bedrooms that mediates the site’s gentle slope. The A-frame is clad in shingles, except at the southern end where only sturdy timbers meet the ground and extensive glazing ensures daylit interiors. Around the A-frame, a paved terrace (the roof of the lower level) creates an overlook and accommodates an outdoor pool. Access to the lower level is provided via an exterior staircase that descends through the plinth and leads to a portico connecting each of the bedrooms. Here, the exterior has been darked—from afar, it almost disappears.

Structure and Materials: The A-frame offered a suitable balance of structural feasibility, spatial intimacy, and environmental comfort. Load-bearing walls in the lower-level structure the paved terrace. Inside, wood and an earthen palette maintain a warm atmosphere.

Additional Information
Completion date: January 2023
Site size: 1.9 acres
Total construction cost: $600,000
Client/Owner: Withheld

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Photography © Rafael Gamo

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Images courtesy Pérez Palacios Arquitectos Asociados