More of a transparent pavilion engulfed in nature than your typical house design, Casa Erasto is Mexico City based studio Vertebral's latest residential offering. Located near the rich Chapultepec forest, the project responds to its surroundings, conceived as a light glass and concrete structure that blends the indoors and outdoors in an organic and elegant way.
Entry into the house is via a ramp, flanked by foliage and marking a path into what feels, when inside, like an urban structure, in its rough concrete surfaces and all-mod-cons; albeit one that is firmly rooted in its context, as whichever way you look, trees and shrubbery unfold through expansive floor-to-ceiling openings that blur the boundaries between interior and exterior.
Spanning four levels and a roof garden, the house is built simply, using a 6x6m concrete core that rises some 12m high. A central core contains circulation and services, creating a cut through the floor slabs that helps the light, the air - and the eye - travel between levels. Terraces jut out from every floor, appearing as if floating over the leafy garden of the 470 sqm plot. A bamboo perimeter delineates the site's borders, within which grow a weeping willow, jacarandas, atenuatas, ferns, stipas and pampa grass.
The ground level's open plan space contains the kitchen, living and dining areas, as well as a library. One floor down, in the semi-submerged lower ground, is an independent studio, while one floor up sits the master bedroom, bathroom and walk-in wardrobe with an informal family room. The top floor houses two more bedrooms.
Mexico City's warm climate was taken into account by the architects during the design process, so there's plenty of doors planned within the glass expanses, while shading is factored in as demonstrated by the presence of pivoting iron slates; making this family home a modern, but also comfortable environment all year round.
INFORMATION
-
Buccellati’s one-of-a-kind jewelled evening bags draw on a rich design historyThe high jewellery house revisits intricate velvet clutch bag designs, originally created by Mario Buccellati in the 1920s and 1930s
-
A colossal ‘ship’ in Shanghai honours Louis Vuitton’s travel legacyLouis Vuitton’s The Louis is an OMA-designed hub combining retail, culture and dining in the heart of Nanjing West Road
-
Los Angeles’ best bars for craft cocktails and A-list designFrom glamorous old Hollywood haunts to trend-setting neighbourhood hangouts, these hotspots serve excellent drinks in an atmosphere unlike anywhere else
-
In Quintana Roo, a park mesmerises with its geometric pavilionA Mexican events venue in the state of Quintana Roo rings the changes with a year-round pavilion that fosters a strong connection between its users and nature
-
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
