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Project Details:

Location: Querétaro, Mexico

Architect: Goma Taller / @goma_taller

Footprint: 6,996 square feet

Photographer: Ariadna Polo / @ariadnapolo.foto

Photographer: Miguel González

From the Architect: “Casa Tejocote is a single-family home located in a semi-urban context from Querétaro, Mexico. Its materials and simple composition represents the vernacular architecture of the region, which seeks to integrate with the semi-desert landscape that surrounds it.

“The volumetry was conceived from the premise of giving spaces the greatest possible privacy. Fences cannot be constructed due to regulations of the housing estate, so the house’s scheme acts as a wall that surrounds and protects the living spaces. The program was divided into four solid volumes that delimit a large central garden and are linked through a bridge of lighter character. These four modules were intervened with meticulous incisions either to open subtle light entrances, provide views that frame the landscape, or integrate the interior with the exterior spaces.

“With 6,996 square feet of construction, Casa Tejocote is distributed on two levels that separate the social areas from the private areas. The ground floor houses a living room, dining room, kitchen, and service spaces, while on the top floor there are three bedrooms and a family room.

“All interior spaces have a semi-open character, having the possibility of opening onto an interior patio or garden, under the same idea of inhabiting the house inward with some privacy without losing contact with the exterior. The central garden plays a fundamental role in the habitability of the house since the modules seek to open up toward it, allowing the family to carry out activities in coexistence with nature. The wild and endemic vegetation of the region surrounds the house and integrates the architecture with the surrounding landscape.

“The warmth and simplicity in both the interior and exterior spaces are a constant in the atmosphere of the house. The pigmented concrete in its tepetate color shades gives a more welcoming character to the spaces it surrounds, matching natural light and the landscape. The use of discreet materials cause light and space to be the protagonists of the house. However, elementary details such as solid wood in furniture and ironwork as well as brick floors, and mosaics, complement the sensation of serenity that the spaces transmit.”