The purpose of the project was to bring together a growing family. We demolished a family home of a couple with four children, who grew up in this place and now each one has formed a family.
To meet the new family scheme, we designed a main house for the parents as a point of reunion, connection and coexistence for all the family, and a house for each of the 4 children with the basic housing program. The 4 villas and the main house, coexist in an environment closely linked to nature, aiming for the best views, orientation and sustainability conditions.
The villas are part of a set of private villas situated in the forest of Avandaro in Valle de Bravo, Mexico.
The architecture of the villas is based on the fluidity of all the spaces, specially, searching for an excellent indoor-outdoor relation, this was achieved through the interaction of the house with the forest. On the other hand, and to counteract the humid and cool climate, we searched for the most incidence of natural light, giving each house a strong feeling of warmth and comfort.
Each villa is a single-family house located next to the main villa. It has public areas in its programme but with a more intimate logic than the main villa. Each bedroom has its own private bathroom and closet.
All the spaces convey a strong warmth thanks to the carefully selected materials and the controlled-size areas; we sought to recreate a sense of a forest cabin. The indoor-outdoor relationship is made through windows that frame the beautiful landscape.
From the beginning, the project was oriented towards a LEED certification; sustainability and energy-saving were the main guides of the proposal. The set was designed to take advantage, to the fullest and with an eco-consciousness, of the natural elements of the site, solar orientation and climate, so we started from there. On the subject of sustainability, we used materials with higher insulation and thermal control coefficient, including hebel walls, rammed earth walls and double-paned insulated windows.
In the area of energy efficiency, we used solar panels for the pool heating system and the hot water recirculation system; we also implemented a fireplace heating system that purifies hot air and injects it into different spaces and the use of ventilated facades for thermal control. Talking about the use and exploitation of waste, we implemented a system of recollection and reuse of rainwater for outdoor irrigation, garbage separation, compost area and a domestic sewage treatment plant. For the outdoor areas, we used permeable concrete pavements and sustainable rice floor decks for the terraces.
• Design Firm: Vieyra Arquitectos
Lorena Vieyra
Valeria Llanos
Gabriel Martínez
Cesar Silva
• Location: Avándaro, Mexico
• Collaborators:
Construction – CYS
Supervision – KCA
Lighting – Luz en Arquitectura
Special Facilities– NTX
• Area: 563 m2 (6,060 sq. ft)
• Photography: Jaime Navarro, Rafael Gamo