BR House, the Valley of Mexico property, Contemporary Mexican Housing Complex, Architecture Images

BR House in the Valley of Mexico

1 May 2023

Architecture: PAIR

Location: Merida, Mexico

Photos: Mauricio Salas

BR House, México

BR House was built in a gated community in the metropolitan area of the Valley of Mexico. Combining generous spaces for entertaining with intimate family accommodation, the design of this house balances the constraints of the site with the alternating requirements for amplitude, serenity, and transparency.

Set into a downward sloping terrain before a cliff, the house is arranged primarily on two levels, deepening to two stories and a half as it steps down the hill. The level change across the site and the views out to the woods are central to the project’s design. The dramatic slope at the end of the lot created the need to contain the land, which resulted in a compensated excavation; minimal earthworks, which created the conditions to have a garden at the living room level.

Access occurs some steps below street level, through a shrunken corridor that gives a sense of intimacy and human scale. This notion is abruptly interrupted when witnessing the open staircase that seeks to exhibit the operation of the house. A carefully orchestrated window opening was placed there to frame the selected view of a tree that casts ever-changing shadows inside the corridors throughout the seasons.

The house is positioned so that the main living areas have uninterrupted views of the garden and surrounding hills. A series of parallel structural walls organize the interior spaces, and these are further articulated by perpendicular infill walls that carry the service functions. Services and storage areas are arranged laterally, allowing the central accommodation to be configured as a single continuous, open, and flowing sequence. Circulation is organized to capture a sequence of carefully framed landscape views. The living room is articulated as a glass pavilion opening into the garden. Full-height glazed sliding doors line the perimeter, allowing the living room to open onto its adjoining terrace, thus eroding divisions between inside and out.

The height and a half living room is achieved by raising the master bedroom, detaching it from the upper floor while providing intimacy, and a contrasting sense of utter openness towards the garden. The wing containing guest rooms opens towards the main façade. These twin bedrooms, the family room, and an open studio conform to the rest of the private spaces.

The BR House was designed with simple strokes and an aesthetic focused on serenity and amplitude. The design process was driven by the aim of maximizing the virtues of the program through the combined architectural and natural elements that contribute not only to the interior of the house but also to its surroundings.