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An exterior staircases rises along a courtyard-facing wall on one of the volumes, and leads up to a roof terrace that faces a mountain to the east.

About 100 miles southwest of Mexico City, nine black concrete blocks in a forest clearing make up one family's holiday home. Designed by Mexican architect Fernanda Canales with landscaping by Claudia Rodríguez, Casa Bruma makes elegant use of a construction material that's commonplace in Latin America. The texture of the black board-formed concrete contrasts with the simple, rectilinear forms of the individual parts of the residence that surround a central patio paved with stone.

The design allows each volume to assert its independence while interacting with the other buildings in a rhythmic sequence.

The result is a series of birdhouse-shaped log houses that jut perilously over slopes and a collection of guest rooms that are stand-alone cubes supported by huge steel rods drilled into the rock, each with one or two glass walls that offer eye popping views of glacial mountains.

The living room extends into the great outdoors with a spruce deck.