Theater producer Claudio Sodi is part of a creative family. His partner, Aranza de Ariño, is an architect. His mother is the actor Laura Zapata, famous for her telenovela roles. And his brother is the well-known artist Bosco Sodi. Together with Claudio’s real-estate developer father, they have spent the last few years turning a secluded area near Puerto Escondido, Mexico, into an enclave that combines the surf town’s bohemian vibe with unusually ambitious architecture.

Bosco Sodi founded Casa Wabi, a nonprofit arts center—designed by Pritzker Prize winners Tadao Ando and Álvaro Siza, among others—that anchors the area. Within walking distance is a tiny house, featured in many travel articles about the region, that Aranza designed while still a student. When Aranza and Claudio, who are based in Mexico City, set out to build their own getaway nearby, they gave their designers a fitting amount of creative latitude.

They hired S-AR, a young firm from Monterrey, and set some ground rules: The house could not exceed 1,075 square feet (100 square meters), and Aranza and Claudio could specify the number of bedrooms. Beyond that, they gave architects Ana Cecilia Garza and her husband and partner, Cesar Guerrero, carte blanche. “We asked them, what does it mean to design a vacation home for Mexico today?” says Claudio. “The only way to let them fully express their response was through complete liberty. There was a dialogue, but the firm had the last word.”

The designers came up with a simple, one-story concrete structure based on a three-dimensional grid. Some sections of its square plan are covered by a roof and partially enclosed by large wooden doors, while others are left open, demarcating outdoor spaces. Despite its rigid shape, its minimalism means the architecture hangs back, serving as a frame for views that connect the sand below to the sky above and nature all around.

The open structure is also practical. The house is in a seismic zone, and extending the grid on all sides allows it to absorb telluric movements in any direction. Guerrero notes that this unifies the structural and architectural aspects of the house. “One goes hand in hand with the other,” he says. “You literally can’t separate them.”

“We proposed a rule in the beginning that the architects would have complete liberty in their design.”
—Claudio Sodi, resident

There is no traditional entrance, just the louvered sliders. All of the movement between rooms takes place around the perimeter. The living room, kitchen, and bedroom are delineated by abbreviated concrete walls and minimal storage spaces, and the effect is openness rather than division—each room eases into the next.

Vegetation looms around the house, so the spiral staircase to the roof beckons for a glimpse of the ocean. The roof is also a perfect perch for the sunset. A “water mirror,” a steel bowl painted black, reflects the stars after the sun goes down, giving the house its name, Casa Cosmos.

Guerrero says that working with people who understand architecture so thoroughly was a little bit like playing soccer with professional teammates. And the owners stuck by their promise of giving the designers an atypical amount of freedom. They asked for a guest room, but Guerrero refused, so a daybed incorporated into the living room wall serves as the extra accommodation if anyone else pops in.

“Over time, the frame will fill up with vegetation, and the house will appear to ‘capture’ the site.”
—Cesar Guerrero, architect

Claudio did bend the rules when it came to the size. The house ultimately measured 850 square feet, but the peripheral outdoor spaces add another 350, tipping the total above the 1,075 mark because Claudio decided he wanted a larger pool.

Casa Cosmos is one of five houses in the complex that Aranza and Claudio are developing, each with a different up-and-coming architect (the same hands-off rules will apply to the other owners). Even with neighbors on the way, the location is notably isolated, the sort of place where it’s recommended to stock up on groceries before you arrive.

Once you’re there, the house is enchantingly spare and feels as far away as possible from the tourist hubbub of other beaches in the region. It’s also deliciously quiet, and most of the time a sensuous breeze drifts in from the ocean. The ground rules kept the design simple, with just the essentials one needs to ease into the landscape.

Project Credits:

Architect of Record: S-AR, Cesar Guerrero, Ana Cecilia Garza, Carlos Morales, Maria Sevilla, and Luis Dela Garza

General Contractor: Jose Eudes Ramirez

Structural Engineering: Roman Cuellar

Civil Engineering: Fermin Perez

Cabinetry: Ubaldo Rios

Blacksmithing: Mario Ramirez

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This Beach House in Mexico Frames the Landscape With an Orderly Concrete Grid