In central Mérida, Mexico, a young family tasked Zaida Briceño and Orlando Franco of FMT Estudio with updating their bland and blocky 1980s home. The structure was in sound condition, although as the firm talked with the family about their lifestyle, the scope of the project grew.

FMT Estudio describes their design style as a sort of “ludic minimalism.” “It’s not always playful to think about buildings,” says Orlando. “This building is very serious, stark, and serene—so we thought about how people can be on the building, around the building, under the building, or move through the building, with colors and surfaces to support that.”

Mérida is known for its warm, sunny climate, and the existing home was well suited for indoor/outdoor living with patios in front, courtyards in back, and an extensive side yard that captures cool breezes from the north.

Before: Street Front

After: Street Front

The firm’s first job was to extend the living areas to the outdoors by editing out some of the bulkier elements and exposing the interior. The kitchen and dining room now connect to the patio with custom iron doors painted a painstakingly cultivated green hue that harmonizes with newly planted fruit trees and the pastel-blue sky beyond. To bring additional levity to the lower level, they fine-tuned the staircase with a lighter hand, substituting thin iron bars for existing concrete walls.

Before: Pool Deck

During certain hours of the afternoon, it can be suffocatingly hot and humid in Mérida. To deal with the heat, many people retreat inside—but to avoid the extensive use of air conditioning, structures need to be able to shed heat.

After: Pool Deck

Beneath a skin of plaster, the home’s structural concrete blocks are insulated and porous, preventing the oven-like effect of thick, solid materials. Custom cedar doorways and windows provide passive ventilation throughout, balancing off-white walls and red-pigmented cement floors with a warm, natural texture.

After: Office

As professionals who regularly work from home, the clients wanted to create separation between their personal and work life. On a side lot previously used only for parking, Briceño, Franco, and their colleague, Gerardo Vázquez, designed a new volume, slightly canted at the top, to serve as an office.

The office backs up flush to a south-facing thoroughfare. “Building closer to the street allowed us to create a larger garden with more shade-producing fruit trees,” Franco says. “They’re a local species to attract and support biodiversity. As cities grow, it’s very important to keep balance, so if we can we plant flowering trees to attract birds and bees.”

Before: Staircase

After: Staircase

Before: Bedroom

After: Bedroom

Before: Landing

After: Landing

Before: Kitchen

After: Kitchen

Before: Foyer

After: Foyer

More Before & After stories:

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In Buenos Aires, a Crumbling Home Gets a Major Refresh With a Rooftop Pool

Project Credits:

Architecture and Interior Design: Zaida Briceño Ramos and Orlando Valente Franco Carrillo / FMT Estudio

Structural Engineer: Rigel Chan, CAMRSA

Photographer: Amy Bello

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Before & After: In Mérida, a Blocky ’80s Home Turns Over a New Leaf