U-F House

This house was designed with a special requirement of full accessibility for a family made up of parents and son, where the father has been using a wheelchair for over 40 years due to an accident that left him unable to walk during the time we were studying architecture.
Intended for vacations and extended stays, the house is located in Valle de Bravo, Edo. de México, surrounded by a natural, forested environment with a cool climate, in a residential development that features a golf course, an equestrian center, a ski club, and a clubhouse with various amenities.
The house, with a total construction area of 470 m², includes parking for two cars, an entrance hall with a guest bathroom, a living room, a combined dining-kitchen area, a study, and four bedrooms, each with its own bathroom and walk-in closet (master bedroom, son’s bedroom, and two guest rooms). It also features a service area that includes a housekeeper’s room with a private bathroom, a laundry room, storage rooms, a utility room, as well as a garden and outdoor areas.
Set on a nearly 1,000 m² plot with a gentle slope and a spectacular south-facing view, the project meets the accessibility requirement through an L-shaped layout that opens up to the golf course. Designed primarily on a single level, it features the two guest bedrooms and the housekeeper´s quarters on separate upper levels, presented as independent volumes. A carefully designed drainage grid system seamlessly integrates the interior and exterior spaces without the need for steps, enabling fluid movement throughout the entire house and allowing the user to enjoy the views from any area, all while circulating on a single floor filled with natural light.
The house’s typology and form respond to the forested, somewhat cold climate, as well as the materials and forms characteristic –in a contemporary way- of regional country houses. The residential development is very meticulous in maintaining the formal vocabulary of its architecture—with a high percentage of sloped roofs—as well as the materials and finishes used in the homes within the complex.
The house is built with a system of light-colored brick walls (6-12-24), arranged to form hollow coffers in the “enguacalado” style, achieving a thickness of 30 cm. This design not only provides a finish that does not require painting but also allows for an internal structure of 18 cm, offering excellent thermal properties that are well-suited to the local climate. The mezzanine and structural elements of the house are made of exposed concrete, and all the double-pitched sloped roofs—of the same size and proportion—are constructed with double pinewood beams, boards, planks, plywood, waterproofing, and dark gray flat tiles. The flooring throughout the house, made entirely of gray busardeado marble and engineered wood planks, completes the palette of natural, low-maintenance materials... ...and all of the above has been carefully designed for optimal enjoyment from a wheelchair, by all means.