Natural instinct: a Mexico City home is designed to bring the outside in
- (opens in new tab)
- (opens in new tab)
- (opens in new tab)
- Sign up to our newsletter Newsletter

Mixing the inside and outside takes a whole new meaning in this project in Mexico City by local architect Verónica González Zavala and her firm, VGZ Arquitectura. The luxurious family home, entitled House P29, not only opens up to a large garden and terrace that make the most of the region’s pleasant, warm climate, but also makes sure each that every main space has a direct visual connection to the outdoors and interiors are framed by greenery at every possible opportunity.
The generous plan spans four levels. A large lower ground open plan space plays host to the owner’s car collection, exuding an almost gallery-like feel, with its tall ceilings, polished floor and rough concrete walls. A separate parking space at the property’s front sits on a slightly higher level – the site is lightly sloped – and provides further accommodation for cars for the family and guests. Several bedrooms, service and facilities areas, including a dedicated security booth by the garage, sit on the same level, inside.
Upstairs are the home’s main living areas, which spread across the whole level, unfolding in a striking sequence of five interconnected rooms. These include a more formal sitting room, a dining area, a kitchen and a separate study and library. From here, there is immediate access to the garden, which is planted with rich, mature trees, lawn and some lower foliage.
A floating staircase forms the house’s main circulation core, situated right off the main entrance and leading up to the top level, where the master suite can be found – featuring its en suite bathroom, walk-in closet and an informal sitting room – as well as two children’s bedrooms and guest accomodation. All rooms have access to a decked terrace that runs the length of the building.
House P29’s material combination of board formed concrete, stone and dark timber ensures an elegant colour palette throughout, while the careful wood detailing hints to the house’s top construction quality. Add to this natural ventilation and sunlight, and you have a family home that is fully in tune with its location, while acting as the perfect modern urban haven for its residents.
A set of striking stone steps lead up from the street to the house's main entrance and security point.
The house's living spaces occupy a whole floor and include a library and study room.
An open plan living and dining area are seamlessly connected with the outdoors through large floor-to-ceiling openings.
The living spaces are connected to the property's large, lush garden below via a terrace.
Maintaining a strong visual connection to the outdoors from most areas in the house was important for the architect.
The main circulation core sits nearby the entrance in the form of an elegant staircase that leads up to the house's more private area.
House P29 features five bedrooms for its owners - a master suite, two children's rooms and a guest bedroom.
All main bedrooms are matched by a dedicated en suite bathroom.
A generous lower ground level hosts the owner’s car collection in a gallery-like environment.
The project's large openings ensure both natural ventilation and sunlight for the interior.
INFORMATION
For more information, visit the VGZ Arquitectura website (opens in new tab)
Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture Editor at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018) and Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020).
-
Feast your eyes: Nadine Ghosn brings cutlery-inspired jewellery to the table
Nadine Ghosn’s Youtensils jewellery collection brings a playfulness to the functional forms of the humble fork, spoon and disposable straw
By Hannah Silver • Published
-
Former builders’ yard transformed into a home and studio by Studio MacLean
This new project, a former builders’ yard in the Cotswolds, by Studio MacLean, showcases the design and build skills of Jason and Jenny Rose MacLean
By Jonathan Bell • Published
-
Herman Miller presents Alexander Girard posters from his panels designs
You can now buy Alexander Girard posters, inspired by his decorative panels, thanks to a new Herman Miller collection
By Pei-Ru Keh • Published
-
Casa Alferez is a fortress-like holiday home with impossibly lofty interiors
Soaring high in the Mexican forest, Casa Alferez, a fortress-like holiday home by Ludwig Godefroy, hides and protects impossibly lofty interiors
By Ellie Stathaki • Published
-
Considerate Mexico City housing emerges from heritage transformation by Pedro y Juana
Mexico city housing T42 is born out of the transformation of a historical home by architecture studio Pedro y Juana
By Harriet Thorpe • Published
-
A minimalist Mexican home has rocky roots
Echegaray, a minimalist Mexican home by Pérez Palacios Arquitectos Asociados, draws on its rocky site, which peeps out from its lower levels
By Ellie Stathaki • Published
-
This slim Condesa house in Mexico City blends rawness and nature
Casa Parras, a Condesa house in Mexico City, is the brainchild of two studios – Alberto Kalach’s TAX and Emilio A Cohen's Tow Va Bow
By Ellie Stathaki • Published
-
Mexican bolthole Los Durmientes offers total immersion in nature
Los Durmientes by Bernardo Chavez Peón – a picturesque Mexican bolthole makes a dreamily idyllic retreat
By Ana Karina Zatarain • Published
-
Year in review: top 10 houses of 2022, selected by Wallpaper* architecture editor Ellie Stathaki
Wallpaper’s Ellie Stathaki reveals her top 10 houses of 2022 – from modernist reinventions to urban extensions and idyllic retreats
By Ellie Stathaki • Published
-
Casa Sexta by All Arquitectura is an exemplar of urban minimalism
Casa Sexta by All Arquitectura brings together domestic warmth and minimalist architecture in the outskirts of Mexico City
By Ellie Stathaki • Published
-
Roz Barr’s terrace house extension is a minimalist reimagining
Terrace house extension by Roz Barr Architects transforms Victorian London home through pared-down elegance
By Nick Compton • Published