Box perfect: a Mexican bungalow makes for an idyllic jungle retreat
This charming jungle bungalow, perched on a slope within the idyllic Mexican wilderness, is the latest residential offering by architects Cadaval & Solà-Morales.
The LMM bungalow is located in Tepoztlán, a small and picturesque town in the Mexican countryside, blessed with fantastic weather and steeped in local history. Situated only 50 km away from Mexico City, the area attracts a swarm of visitors, who visit often to soak up Tepoztlán’s unique character and climate. The bungalow, which has been designed with short term use in mind, offers views of the neighbouring valley from the site’s shared outdoor lounge area and pool.
The research-based practice, founded in New York in 2003 and now run out of offices in Barcelona and Mexico City, took special care when designing the compact house. The area's planning requirements outlined a structure that would ‘minimise its visual impact on the landscape’, so the architects opted for a distreet black painted and glass facade.
Created for either a small family or a couple, the bungalow was intended as a 'temporary shelter'. The master bedroom and living areas are placed at the front of the property, while the kitchen is located at the far back. This is where the construction's unusual shape comes into play; a narrow gap slashes through the volume, separating the front half of the property into two parts. This move secures privacy between areas by creating a clear division between leisure and sleeping arrangements. At the same time, nature is allowed to seep in.
The bungalow's minimalist ‘framed box’ structure features a floor-to-ceiling glass front, set slightly back from its encasing shell. This allows for an ample terrace that frames the breathtaking surrounding landscape and views, while cleverly sheltering its inhabitants from the sun.
The home, designed for a couple or a small family, has living and sleeping areas situated at the front of the property
The facade was painted black to minimalise the visual effect it has on its surroundings
Privacy is secured through the volume’s ’split’; this cleverly separates the bedroom area from the more public living room next to it
LMM bungalow is the first development to complete on site. In the future, inhabitants will be able to enjoy the use of a communal pool and lounge area, also designed by Cadaval & Solà-Morales
INFORMATION
For more information on LMM Bungalow visit Cadaval & Solà-Morales’s website
Photography: Sandra Pereznieto
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
-
How We Host: Interior designer Heide Hendricks shows us how to throw the ultimate farmhouse fêteThe designer, one half of the American design firm Hendricks Churchill, delves into the art of entertaining – from pasta to playlists
-
Arbour House is a north London home that lies low but punches highArbour House by Andrei Saltykov is a low-lying Crouch End home with a striking roof structure that sets it apart
-
25 of the best beauty launches of 2025, from transformative skincare to offbeat scentsWallpaper* beauty editor Mary Cleary selects her beauty highlights of the year, spanning skincare, fragrance, hair and body care, make-up and wellness
-
A cubist house rises in Mexico City, its concrete volumes providing a bold urban refugeCasa Ailes, a cubist house by Jaime Guzmán Creative Group, is rich in architectural expression that mimics the dramatic and inviting nature of a museum
-
Serenity radiates through this Mexican home, set between two ravinesOn the cusp of a lakeside town, Mexican home Casa el Espino is a single-storey residence by Soler Orozco Arquitectos (SOA)
-
Mexican landscape architect Mario Schjetnan's Grupo de Diseño wins 2025 Oberlander PrizeThe 2025 Oberlander Prize goes to Mexican landscape architect Mario Schjetnan and his studio, Grupo de Diseño, highlighting the creative's motto: 'We have a human right to open space'
-
The Architecture Edit: Wallpaper’s houses of the monthThis September, Wallpaper highlighted a striking mix of architecture – from iconic modernist homes newly up for sale to the dramatic transformation of a crumbling Scottish cottage. These are the projects that caught our eye
-
A Mexican clifftop retreat offers both drama, and a sense of placeCasa Piscina del cielo, a clifftop retreat by Zozaya Arquitectos, creates the perfect blend of drama and cosiness on Mexico's Pacific Coast
-
Broken up into six pavilions, this brutalist Mexican house is embedded in the landscapeSordo Madaleno’s brutalist Mexican house, Rancho del Bosque, is divided up into a series of pavilions to preserve the character of its hillside site, combining concrete, curves and far-reaching views
-
The Architecture Edit: Wallpaper’s houses of the monthWallpaper* has spotlighted an array of remarkable architecture in the past month – from a pink desert home to structures that appears to float above the ground. These are the houses and buildings that most captured our attention in August 2025
-
Estudio Ome on how the goal of its landscapes ‘is to provoke, even through a subtle detail, an experience’The Mexico City-based practice explores landscape architecture in Mexico, France and beyond, seeking to unite ‘art and ecology’