This Mérida house is named after the tree that pierces through its plan. The Akúun tree – alamo in Spanish, poplar in English – defies the heaviness of the building’s concrete with its comparably delicate natural branches. It’s symbolic of the whole concept of this house by Arkham Projects, which was designed around the abundant vegetation of its site in a suburb outside of the capital city of the state of Yucatán in Mexico which is known for its lush tropical rainforests.
‘Anything that was there before us had to be respected and taken into consideration while designing. We believe nature is as important, if not more, than the actual architecture. Nature is the factor that ends up giving life to the projects,’ says Duarte Torre of Arkham Projects.
Balancing this respect for nature with the functionality required for a family of six, the architects designed a nearly 70m-long, single-storey house that glides horizontally through the landscape. While it is extensive in size, it is also as discreet as possible, and the footprint of the house occupies just one fifth of the land. The simplicity of the design allows nature to be the protagonist, already encroaching on and reclaiming the architecture.
‘The interaction between the vegetation and the sun, the reflection of the shadows on the building and the comfort that this brings to the inhabitants is impossible to compare with anything. We believe that projects get better with time, when nature takes back what has been borrowed, and when the patina plays a role in the personality of the project,’ says Torre.
In fact, for this house, nature has been used as a type of architecture. The tree and its surrounding patio is a natural division between the ‘public’ and ‘private’ spheres of the home – the intimate family quarters opposed to the social living areas for entertaining guests. An open-air ‘green passage’ filled with lush trees and plants connects the two spaces and their separate entrances; the ‘public’ entrance is marked by a large, sloping guanacaste tree.
Floor-to-ceiling glazing and continuous stone flooring (Crema Marfil marble inside and Niwala limestone outside) forge seamless connections between indoors and outdoors. And while the interiors are filled with light during the day, the house stays cool thanks to its careful orientation and overhanging shading. The matriarch of the family, an architect who collaborated with Arkham Projects on the project, worked on the interior design selecting volumetric and organic design pieces that reflect the biophilic concept of the whole house.
INFORMATION
-
An inox-fanatic's love letter to stainless steelUltimate stainless steel fan Levi Di Marco has been documenting inox designs on his social media platform @tutto_inox: we asked him to tell us about his not-so-mild obsession and share some of his favourite examples of inox design
-
Porthmadog House mines the rich seam of Wales’ industrial past at the Dwyryd estuaryStröm Architects’ Porthmadog House, a slate and Corten steel seaside retreat in north Wales, reinterprets the area’s mining and ironworking heritage
-
The Testament of Ann Lee brings the Shaker aesthetic to the big screenDirected by Mona Fastvold and featuring Amanda Seyfried, The Testament of Ann Lee is a visual deep dive into Shaker culture
-
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)
-
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
