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Francisco Pardo Arquitecto's housing features circular pool overlooking the coastal landscape
Mexico Architecture News - Jul 22, 2020 - 11:12 4585 views
Mexican architecture studio Francisco Pardo Arquitecto has designed a new housing with cascaded concrete roofs, featuring circular outdoor swimming pools on top of the roofs.
Named Villas Escondida, the project is are located 50 meters from the Pacific Ocean, on a cliff-top overlooking the bay of Puerto Escondido ("Hidden Port"), in Mexico.
The site is renowned for its wild and endless beaches and the area is one of the most revered tourist attractions on the Oaxacan Coast, welcoming surfers from all over the world, and attracting a more low-key and eclectic clientele.
Image © Onnis Luque
The design of the complex takes cues from the natural terrain and hides itself as much as possible while ensuring mesmerizing views towards a beautiful landscape.
The project is nestled in the vegetation and respects the environment by mirroring the slope of the site with its 20° to 40° incline, through a sequence of stepping, rotation and intermediate patios.
"A standard replicable pattern is established, enabling 180° views and plenty of natural light and ventilation in each unit, thanks to a complex and alternating layout that offers residents a unique experience," said Francisco Pardo Arquitecto in a project description.
Image © Onnis Luque
"This housing arrangement naturally adapts to the existing topography," said Francisco Pardo, founder of the studio.
"The villas seek to generate a harmonic symbiosis between architecture, the Pacific Ocean and the inhabitants, enhanced by extraordinary panoramic views of the surroundings."
Image © Onnis Luque
The complex comprises of 16 residencies that has a 150-square-metre terrace, measuring 70 square meters on the lower level. Despite the high-density on site, the apartments, embedded into the hillside in various ways, feel more like villas than apartments.
Each unit consists of two or three bedrooms, an open-plan living and dining room, and a private terrace – which frames the idyllic scenery and the sea-horizon, while guaranteeing maximum privacy through the extensive plants strategically placed around its perimeters.
Image © Onnis Luque
Each apartment has a small private swimming pool, and three types of common areas feature on the uppermost rooftops: to the East (the highest), a bar and rest area; in the center, the main swimming pool with a sundeck; and to the West, a smaller pool for children.
Image © Onnis Luque
The apartments are accessed through a system of natural pathways and two gardens that replicate the natural slope of the terrain and stretch down to the sea.
The ocean breeze, in synergy with the shade provided by cantilevered roofs and the cross ventilation generated by the terrace and the lateral walls, provides passive cooling options.
Image © Onnis Luque
Inside, the units offer a comfortable place to relax and take refuge from the sun. Natural-toned wood wraps the exquisitely tailored-made interiors, adding visual warmth and reinforcing the connection to the natural context.
Image © Onnis Luque
Villas Escondida are entirely built with a simple structure of reinforced concrete, block walls, cement, sand and ribbed slabs. This system has permitted flexible construction and a solid structure, resistant to the characteristic earthquakes that affect the area.
Image © Onnis Luque
The main finishing details of the external facades and the interiors are made with Chukun, flattened with fine sand cement and the suggestive local “Macuil” wood.
Image © Mauricio Guerrero
Rather than trespassing on the landscape, this original project that slopes down toward the beach to catch the ocean’s breeze, is intended to integrate into the site blanketed with vegetation, emphasizing the architecture's connection to its natural setting.
Image © Mauricio Guerrero
Image © Onnis Luque
Image © Onnis Luque
Image © Onnis Luque
Image © Onnis Luque
Image © Onnis Luque
Image © Mauricio Guerrero
Image © Mauricio Guerrero
Image © Mauricio Guerrero
Image © Mauricio Guerrero
Image © Mauricio Guerrero
Image © Mauricio Guerrero
Image © Mauricio Guerrero
Image © Mauricio Guerrero
Image © Onnis Luque
Image © Onnis Luque
General floor plan
Unit floor plan
Section
Longitudinal elevation
Francisco Pardo Arquitecto was founded by Francisco Pardo in 2016 in Mexico City. Francisco Pardo has redirected his efforts toward more local and more social architecture, understanding this discipline as a tool for social development of his country and the world.
Francisco Pardo Arquitecto previously completed a prototype for a self-built social housing in Apan, Hidalgo, México and the firm designed new urban parks to revitalize Mexico's neglected two suburban neighbourhoods.
The studio is currently working on the project San Juan Pugibet market in Mexico City, a rural school in Puebla, and social housing and various recycling projects in Mexico.
Project facts
Project: Villas Escondida
Architect: Francisco Pardo Arquitecto
Developer: Gumaro Lizárraga, Grupo GLM
Design team: Wilfrido Estrada (project leader), Rosa Medrano, Karen Burkart, Víctor Cruz, Iván Saucedo, Vania Torres, Tiberio Wallentin
Completion: 2020
Location: Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca, México
GFA: 8,310 sqm
Interior design: La Metropolitana, Década Muebles
Construction and fixed furniture: Alfonso Suarez, Factotum Arquitectura
Top image © Onnis Luque
All drawings © Francisco Pardo Arquitecto