The old adage that it takes a village to raise a child was very probably at the back of Alejandro Bernardi's mind when he sat down at his desk to draft the plans for the Mexican 'House on the Pacific Coast'.
As it turns out, ‘house’ is entirely the wrong word to describe this project, built on a secluded wind- and sea-swept spot in Zihuatanejo, a town on the edge of Mexico’s Pacific coast, 160 miles northwest of Acapulco.
The owner is an entrepreneurial businessman with a large family who has worked with Bernardi on a number of projects. The brief was to build a holiday home that could accommodate the family, but without detracting from the security and privacy of the site, nor stand apart from the community.
Take an interactive tour of House on the Pacific Coast
‘That was the biggest challenge,’ says Bernardi, of Mexico City-based firm Bernardi + Peschard. ‘We did not want a massive building which could disrupt the context. So, we decided to break up the plot into several small buildings that are separated by lush landscape. This creates a small village in which the family can grow for generations to come and each son can have his own small casita in the future.’
The result is a micro-village of 14 rooms, albeit a tremendously sleek one in which the traditional Mexican palapa (or beach house), with its peaked straw-thatched roof, has been given a distinct contemporary twist. Each of the small buildings – pavilions, really – is arranged along a sandy path connected by stepping stones made of cut rounds of tree trunks, and features an earthy, tactile mix of exposed concrete, local parota wood and stone against a landscape of wild vegetation and canopy of palm trees.
The ocean views, of course, are spectacular – whether from the 17m saltwater pool or from the second floor bedrooms. And where possible, Bernardi has elided walls, allowing sea-breezes to flow through the non-air-conditioned spaces. The site is stunning, Bernardi points out a little unnecessarily, but ‘the way the buildings are arranged makes them very private while at the same time the public spaces are very open, inviting and with the best views’.
The house is built as a cluster of volumes on a secluded wind- and sea-swept spot in Zihuatanejo, on a beach about 160 miles northwest of Acapulco
The architect decided to break down the structure's volume into several smaller buildings, so as to not disrupt the pristine landscape
This micro-village features 14 sleek rooms in the traditional Mexican palapa (or beach house) typology
The peaked straw-thatched roof is visually present internally, but has been given a distinct contemporary twist
The material palette includes an earthy, tactile mix of exposed concrete, local parota wood and stone
Bedrooms are mostly located on the structure's second floor
A sandy path connected by stepping stones made of cut rounds of tree trunks link the different volumes merging inside and outside
The long ocean views are complemented by a 17m saltwater pool
INFORMATION
For more information, visit the Bernardi + Peschard Arquitectura website
Photography: Rafael Gamo
-
In the frame: Layer is a new high-tech platform for displaying unique pieces of generative artA museum-grade canvas renders digital art with spectacular precision, cutting-edge tech and exacting industrial design
-
Chrome tableware to make your dining setup shineOnce a hallmark of industrial and midcentury design, chrome is shining once again. The latest expression? Metallic dinner-, drink- and serveware that embody sophistication
-
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)
-
Serenity radiates through this Mexican home, set between two ravines
On 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
