Casa Estudio Hill

The conservation of an ash tree guided each gesture of the project, and led to a composition of volumes designed to form a structure around the tree. In this way, two patios and three volumes intersect in the vertical circulations’ nucleus, and are differentiated by the distinct treatment of the window frames, altering the perception of lightness or solidity.

Designed for a music producer and artist, the house needed to double up as both a living space and a professional recording studio. The acoustic quality and layout of each space mean that every module operates as an extension of the studio. On the ground floor, the dense entrance volume houses the studio itself. This is succeeded by the light, open volume intended as the living area, which is connected at the rear with the main patio where the ash tree is located. Above both lower bodies, linked by the central staircase and courtyard, is the third volume, which contains the bedrooms and private areas, and also opens onto the large ash with its entire façade in a geometric composition of windows. The three volumes connect to the outside in different directions, increasing the entry of natural light and generating views that unite the program’s composition.

Blurring the boundaries between the solid volumes and the voids gives the sense of flow, integrating the interior and the exterior in a single space.

 

Florida, Mexico City, 2013.

220 sqm

Photographs: Onnis Luque

Edificio de Rectoría, Escuela Bancaria y Comercial (EBC)

The proposal for the Rectory Building for the Escuela Bancaria y Comercial (EBC) was based on the premise of paying utmost respect to the pre-existing construction, motivated by the desire to renovate and alter a building with these characteristics. The idea was never to adopt the same design language or camouflage the renovation, but rather to find the right tools to create a dialogue between the two different epochs, without the new interfering with the old. The neutral forms and presence of glass in the material finishes are strategies to make the intervention disappear, thus allowing the existing construction to retain its prominence.

The program’s scale led to the decision to split it into two volumes, interconnected with the original building as subtly as possible: one is more horizontal and rests on the main volume, and the other is a free-standing vertical block that functions as a backdrop to the courtyard.

The existing building’s interior was altered to create a central void that functions as a distributor for the whole complex’s vertical and horizontal communications.

 

Juárez, Mexico City, 2012

3,200 sqm

Photographs: Rodrigo Chapa

Cuna de Tierra

The reaction to two external forces —the program and the natural context— makes the project a kind of inevitable answer. On the one hand, we have the approach to the site using the very soil that nourishes the vines and gives the landscape its hue, as well as being the project’s construction material known as tepetate. On the other, the program is fragmented into volumes corresponding to the winemaking and distribution process, reflecting operational needs.

This discontinuity enables the addition of new bodies in the future, in case the program so requires. It also plays a fundamental role in the building’s thermal and functional performance, as well as in the insolation of the surfaces, where each body becomes a generator of shade for its neighbor. This composition makes the solids as important as the voids of the inner courtyards and the plazas between the volumes which, as well as being workspaces, also give the interiors natural lighting and ventilation.

The darkness required for proper wine storage is a defining requirement, underlining the importance of the relation between solids and voids of this project and giving particular emphasis to using the space based on the experience of intermittency.

 

Dolores Hidalgo, Guanajuato, 2011

1,800 sqm

Photographs: Ignacio Urquiza / ESTUDIO URQUIZA Taller de fotografía