A Brutalist-Inspired, Off-Grid Retreat Rises in a Remote Costa Rican Cloud Forest

In the remote mountains of Palmichal de Acosta, Costa Rica, local architect María de la Paz Alice, founder of Mazpazz Arquitectura, designed a 100 percent autonomous and self-sustaining home that frames its lush surroundings with a series of geometric openings. The home’s entrance, which the architect refers to as “the vortex,” takes the form of a poured-concrete cube with two prominent circular cutouts. Crystals encrusted in the floor capture and reflect light that passes from the sun and moon through the overhead oculus.