Amelia Tulum, a new residential project by Mexico City-based studio Sordo Madaleno, takes a different approach to blending nature and architecture; here, the architects hope that 'architecture becomes part of the jungle', the practice writes. The project, set within the Riviera Maya's Aldea Zamá, a part of the country awash with historical sites, cenotes (sinkholes) and leafy jungle, was conceived to provide a human-centred dwelling for its inhabitants while respecting its precious context.
Tour Amelia Tulum by Sordo Madaleno
The residential complex contains 38 apartments, ranging from 90 sq m to 150 sq m. Terraces and open-air amenities such as a roof bar, hammocks, a pool, sunbeds and a grill, ensure residents remain in contact with nature and the outdoors throughout the development.
'Amelia Tulum’s concept is born of respect for the natural conditions of the climate, topography and native vegetation. The proposed construction has the least impact on the terrain, using the minimum footprint when raising the structure above the ground – the way a stilt house coexists with its natural environment. This decision gave rise to all the aesthetic characteristics of the complex,' the architects say.
The building's clever integration with nature does not just protect the environment's existing character. It also ensures that temperatures are kept low in this particular warm part of the world. Additionally, passive systems, such as eaves with vegetation above the windows, natural woven screens shading, and pergolas (made by locally sourced wood species jiles), bolster the scheme's sustainable architecture credentials.
The structure is made of reinforced concrete and post-tensioned slab systems. The detailing and surfaces beyond that prioritise artisan techniques and labour from the region, ensuring the local communities are engaged and benefit from the construction.
-
Year in Review: we’re always after innovations that interest us – here are ten of 2025’s bestWe present ten pieces of tech that broke the mould in some way, from fresh takes on guitar design, new uses for old equipment and the world’s most retro smartwatch
-
Art and culture editor Hannah Silver's top ten interviews of 2025Glitching, coding and painting: 2025 has been a bumper year for art and culture. Here, Art and culture editor Hannah Silver selects her favourite moments
-
In Norway, remoteness becomes the new luxuryAcross islands and fjords, a new wave of design-led hideaways is elevating remoteness into a refined, elemental form of luxury
-
Deep dive into Carlos H Matos' boundary-pushing architecture practice in MexicoMexican architect Carlos H Matos' designs balance the organic and geometric, figurative and abstract, primitive and futuristic
-
For Rodríguez + De Mitri, a budding Cuernavaca architecture practice, design is 'conversation’Rodríguez + De Mitri stands for architecture that should be measured, intentional and attentive – allowing both the environment and its inhabitants to breathe
-
Mexico's Office of Urban Resilience creates projects that cities can learn fromAt Office of Urban Resilience, the team believes that ‘architecture should be more than designing objects. It can be a tool for generating knowledge’
-
These Guadalajara architects mix modernism with traditional local materials and craftGuadalajara architects Laura Barba and Luis Aurelio of Barbapiña Arquitectos design drawing on the past to imagine the future
-
This Mexican architecture studio has a surprising creative processThe architects at young practice Pérez Palacios Arquitectos Asociados (PPAA) often begin each design by writing out their intentions, ideas and the emotions they want the architecture to evoke
-
The architecture of Mexico's RA! draws on cinematic qualities and emotionRA! was founded by Cristóbal Ramírez de Aguilar, Pedro Ramírez de Aguilar and Santiago Sierra, as a multifaceted architecture practice in Mexico City, mixing a cross-disciplinary approach and a constant exchange of ideas
-
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)
