Moody LEDs Turn This Mexico City Abode Into a Neon Sculpture at Night

With crisp, white walls that become blank canvases for layered lighting effects, Rombo IV is designed to feel like a walk-in art installation.

Text by

Lucy Wang

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When dusk descends on Mexico City, an all-white house takes on a surreal new atmosphere as an alchemy of LEDs bathes the interior in vibrant colors. The dreamlike abode is the work of Miguel Angel Aragonés, a self-taught architect of the Mexican design studio Taller Aragonés, and one of four structures on his property—three houses and a studio—collectively called Los Rombos after their rhomboid shape.

A long entrance hallway creates an element of suspense.

The floors are white marble and travertine.

Dubbed Rombo IV, the three-story house is clad in white stucco with interiors dressed in white marble and travertine to create a white canvas for light and shadow.

Edged in by tall walls, vegetation, and a long reflecting pool, the rear triangular courtyard is a peaceful oasis.

Miguel Angel Aragonés is seen in the cantilevered second-floor bedroom that overlooks the rear courtyard.

During the day, the walls reflect variations in sunlight and sky color. At night, the interiors are saturated in vibrant LED hues evocative of a Mexican sunset. Black reflecting pools add a dreamlike mirror effect.

Leading to a lush wall of green, the long reflecting pool on the ground floor divides the space, with the living area on the left and the dining area on the right.

Almost all of the furniture was created by Poliform, a long-time partner of the architects.

Defined by crisp, orthogonal lines and geometric furnishings, the minimalist home feels like a walk-in art installation. Aragonés has opened the house up as a rental property for individuals looking for a unique getaway or brands wanting an experimental events venue.

The ground-floor living areas are bathed in warm colors while the room beyond has a cool blue tone.

Different colored lights are used in different parts of the home to create a layered effect seen through the geometric wall openings.

"I always try do very orthogonal designs, nothing organic because architecture to me is opposite from nature," says Aragonés. "To use organic shapes or natural forms…it seems like imitating something that architecture doesn’t have the language for. I respect the attempt, but for me it doesn’t make sense. I enjoy working with orthogonal spaces and including organic forms with real elements like trees, plants, and water."

The large triangular reflecting pool on the second floor is open to the sky.

On the third floor guests enjoy access to a covered swimming pool.

Openings carved into the walls and ceilings create interesting plays of light and shadow and make the pool look like a work of art.

To that end, the walls of glass open the home up to lush vegetation and sky views. Water is found throughout the home, from reflecting pools on the bottom two floors to a swimming pool on the topmost floor.

Strategically placed walls of glass bathe the interior with natural light during the day and open the house up to the outdoors without compromising privacy.

Available as a holiday rental, the 11,861-square-foot house comes with multiple bedrooms, a spacious kitchen, living areas, a hot tub, and a fitness center.

"I suppose the dynamic is for people involved in art and architecture…and as a kind of hotel-house," Aragonés explains. "It has been a refuge in this huge and crazy but funny place called México City."