Casa Carrizo, a Mexican beach house nestled idyllically onto the shores of the country’s Pacific coast, was a dream come true for its owners – a couple from Diego Puebla, Mexico and Fiorella Lima, Peru respectively. Situated in the small fishing village of Agua Blanca, some 30 km from Puerto Escondido in Oaxaca, the project, created by Mexico City-based architecture studio BAAQ, was conceived to represent a sense of complete escape.
Casa Carrizo: a place to relax, slow down, and disconnect from the daily grind
Based in New York, the clients were after a holiday retreat where they ‘could totally disconnect and feel the experience of inhabiting this particular site,’ BAAQ’s José Alfonso Quiñones explains. ‘They were very specific, [wanting to] have a very intimate and small program of two bedrooms, living area and a kitchen.’
The structure was designed as two volumes. As the plot is located on the second row of houses from the beach, with no ground level direct sightlines of the water, the architects decided to build tall, rising three levels upwards to free up those calming ocean vistas.
A bridge and stair connect the two wings of the house, which in total spans some 160 sq m. A sense of space and generosity of scale in the ceiling heights and openings ensure a comfortable, airy feel throughout, which connects with the outdoors at every turn.
One of the volumes contains a garage on the ground floor, the main bedroom on the first floor, and a small living room with a bathroom and a mezzanine for further accommodation if needed at the top. The other volume houses a guest suite. The rooftop is also in use, acting as a private suntrap with lounge seating and shading.
‘This is the simplest part of the house since it is built with just wood columns and a Carrizo shade. But it is also the most important one because here we have 360-degree views and the couple spend most of their time in it,’ Quiñones writes.
Keeping the house open and flowing means that it makes the most of the local climate, taking advantage of the sea breeze to cool down. Designed as a simple, completely open concrete structure, its openings are covered in palm stems woven into screens and sunshades using a local technique called Carrizo, which inspired the home's name.
A further touch of local craft is added through the traditional Talavera ceramics that appear in various points within the house. These elements are fabricated in Puebla, Mexico, where one of the owners' family is from.
-
Five of the finest compact cameras available todayPocketable cameras are having a moment. We’ve assembled a set of cutting-edge compacts that’ll free you from the ubiquity of smartphone photography and help focus your image making
-
London label Wed Studio is embracing ‘oddness’ when it comes to bridal dressingThe in-the-know choice for fashion-discerning brides, Wed Studio’s latest collection explores the idea that garments can hold emotions – a reflection of designers Amy Trinh and Evan Phillips’ increasingly experimental approach
-
Arts institution Pivô breathes new life into neglected Lina Bo Bardi building in BahiaNon-profit cultural institution Pivô is reactivating a Lina Bo Bardi landmark in Salvador da Bahia in a bid to foster artistic dialogue and community engagement
-
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’
-
Pretty in cactus-inspired pink, this Mexican desert house responds to its arid contextCasa Cardona, a pink house by architects Sensacional Dinamica Mexicana, is a multigenerational home that celebrates colour and changing light
