Dominated by its grid façade, strong materiality and clean, geometric volumes, Agua 210 is an impactful residential design created by Mexican architecture practice HEMAA, led by Alejandra Tornel, Jose Miguel Fainsod and Santiago Hernández Matos. What a quick, close-up glance doesn’t reveal is that this noble home is part of the iconic residential landscape of the Jardines de Pedregal, the Mexico City development created by modernist architecture master Luis Barragán.
The area, also known simply as El Pedregal, takes its name from the petrified lava that covered the area when the Xitle volcano erupted some 1,600 years ago (pedregal means ‘rocky place’). In the 1940s, Barragán undertook a residential experiment to transform it into a place that unites visionary architecture and nature, resulting in well-known works such as Casa Prieto-López, which was recently bought and restored by businessman and art collector César Cervantes. Agua 210 sits in the same family of houses, proudly announcing its presence through tall, sharp volumes and a nod to the area’s roots.
The architects wanted to create a contemporary home that is a ‘reinterpretation of a house from the 1950s’, while also maintaining the all-important relationship of the building with its natural surroundings. Basing their design on the abstract footprint of an outline that Barragán himself created, the team at HEMAA worked across two main axes to compose a series of spaces that offer everything from privacy to openness, and from warm domestic comfort to cool, sharp lines.
A verdant garden engulfs the home, elevating the composition. ‘As a visual finish, a succulent garden serves as a space for contemplation and silence,’ explain the architects. The green space also features a piece by Tezontle Studio that draws on the sculpture garden by poet and artist Edward James in the Huasteca jungle.
The spacious interiors balance cool concrete with soft timber and bespoke joinery that wraps entire rooms. Large windows confidently cut out of the façade frame the views of the greenery and landscape beyond. Meanwhile, grey quarry stone cladding on the façade elegantly hints at El Pedregal’s heritage and rocky nature, bridging past, present and future.
INFORMATION
-
From Cubism to Pop, artists’ jewellery goes on show in Palm Beach‘Artists’ Jewelry: From Cubism to Pop, the Diane Venet Collection’ at the Norton Museum of Art showcases key pieces from an impressive collection
-
Wallpaper* checks in at Waldorf Astoria Osaka‘It’s rare to work on a brand new hotel of this scale in Japan in today’s landscape,’ says designer Andre Fu about Osaka’s newest luxury hotel. Wallpaper* paid it an early visit
-
Ten playful bag charms to adorn your accessoriesReinvigorate past handbags or add an injection of personality with these Wallpaper*-approved bag charms, from a menagerie of animals to enormous sequins, chains and tassels
-
Casa La Paz is a private retreat in Baja California full of texture and theatricsLudwig Godefroy designed Casa La Paz in Baja California, Mexico to create deep connections between the home and its surroundings
-
Pedro y Juana's take on architecture: 'We want to level the playing field’Mexico City-based architects Pedro y Juana bring their transdisciplinary, participatory approach to the Mexico pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025; find out more
-
Tour the wonderful homes of ‘Casa Mexicana’, an ode to residential architecture in Mexico‘Casa Mexicana’ is a new book celebrating the country’s residential architecture, highlighting its influence across the world
-
A barrel vault rooftop adds drama to these homes in Mexico CityExplore Mariano Azuela 194, a housing project by Bloqe Arquitetura, which celebrates Mexico City's Santa Maria la Ribera neighbourhood
-
Explore a minimalist, non-religious ceremony space in the Baja California DesertSpiritual Enclosure, a minimalist, non-religious ceremony space designed by Ruben Valdez in Mexico's Baja California Desert, offers flexibility and calm
-
La Cuadra: Luis Barragán’s Mexico modernist icon enters a new chapterLa Cuadra San Cristóbal by Luis Barragán is reborn through a Fundación Fernando Romero initiative in Mexico City; we meet with the foundation's founder, architect and design curator Fernando Romero to discuss the plans
-
Enjoy whale watching from this east coast villa in Mexico, a contemporary oceanside gemEast coast villa Casa Tupika in Riviera Nayarit, Mexico, is designed by architecture studios BLANCASMORAN and Rzero to be in harmony with its coastal and tropical context
-
Mexico's long-lived football club Atlas FC unveils its new groundsSordo Madaleno designs a new home for Atlas FC; welcome to Academia Atlas, including six professional football fields, clubhouses, applied sport science facilities and administrative offices
