A Family Retreat Outside Yosemite Frames California Gold Country Like a Postcard

Mexico City firm PPAA punched a large hole through its center for picture-perfect views of oak trees, boulders, and rolling hills.

Text by

Amy Dvorak

Photos by

Rafael Gamo

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They loved Coarsegold for its natural beauty: unsullied views of the Sierra Madre’s rolling foothills, and Yosemite National Park just up the road. Orange County couple Juan Pablo Santillan and Tania Alvarado have been bringing their family to the area for the past several years to stay in a cottage on 22 unspoiled acres, which reminded Juan of his childhood, when he’d spend time outdoors with his brothers, sisters, and cousins. Wanting the same for their kids, he and Tania decided to purchase land in nearby Yosemite Lake to build a retreat of their own.

Outside Yosemite National Park, PPAA designed a yakisugi-clad retreat for a young family that fell in love with the Sierra’s rolling foothills. The firm placed the home where a clearing already existed.

Juan, a tech entrepreneur, and Tania, an industrial designer, started talking with architect Pablo Pérez Palacios of Mexico City firm PPAA over Zoom about what a design might look like. They met in person for the first time on a camping trip to the property, where everyone pitched tents to think about how a home could complement the setting.

"We didn’t want a large-scale project, just framing nature was the concept," remembers Palacios. "Architecture shouldn't be a protagonist. Let the site be the show."

An opening running east to west creates an indoor/outdoor scheme that draws air through the home.

"The common areas are made for seamless movement from one place to another," says homeowner Juan Pablo Santillan. "You open the doors and see people at the fireplace. You can be in the living room and feel like you’re a part of that."

The terrain was scattered with jutting boulders, so deciding how to position the home was a challenge. By camping, the group was able to explore firsthand how shifting the plan a mere 10 centimeters could make for a better view of the sunset. Palacio, who’s built his share of breathtaking indoor/outdoor homes in Valle Del Bravo, Mexico, knows how to let the site dictate. "We really think true inspiration comes from nature," he says. "Architecture in the artificial sense can no longer be thought about without a connection to it."

With Juan and Tania’s home, Casa Roca, it was similarly about finding ways to maximize the experience of nature from the inside out. The home’s signature feature is a large east-to-west cutout in the middle of its rectangular plan. "The main actor is the big rock formation in the back and the mountain views in the front," says Juan. "The sunsets are out of this world, especially because of how we oriented the living room." Adding to the experience are concrete slabs, "gestures that invite you into the house," says Palacios. "They’re just pieces of concrete, yet they define the openings."

"The concrete slabs in the front and back feel really important," says architect Pablo Pérez Palacios. "The empty spaces area as important as the built architecture. The house does not exist without these platforms."

The house is shaded from early morning sun by boulders on the east side and captures open views to the west.

They also create a sense of openness. "You don’t need that much space if you do it correctly," Palacios says. The program is modest, essentially an open living and dining area with the large cutout running through it, and the bedrooms at the opposite end of the home. The residence is expressed in just a few materials: polished concrete floors, plywood interior walls, and a yakisugi exterior.

"As Pablo told us, the house should not overpower the site," says Juan. "It’s simple and subtle." So as to disturb the setting as little as possible, the foundation was laid where a flat surface already existed, and the solar-panel roof and walls were prefabricated off-site. "The plot was super special for them, but how do we build the home here without messing it up?" Palacios remembers thinking. "The result is very essential and honest—nothing is fake."

"How do we do more with less?"

—Pablo Pérez Palacios, architect

PPAA used plywood for the interiors to keep costs low.

The polished concrete floors and plywood walls are "very essential and honest" says Palacios.

Casa Roca features two beds and two baths.

The family intends to continue expanding on the property, with additional homes to accommodate visitors. "It’s such a special place to make memories for the kids—for them to be able to experience a place like this and to host friends and family from Mexico," says Tania. Adds Juan, "When you are there, you feel the love of the people translated into the project and the love of the land."