This sustainable Costa Rican retreat in the lush tropical forest is the brainchild of local architecture practice Studio Saxe. Located near the beautiful coastal town of Santa Teresa, the set of beach houses, a complex called Naia, is an exquisite escape, designed to create a comfortable and eye-catching environment by blending sustainable architecture and contemporary style.
One of the houses is lower and is composed of smaller pavilions, each containing a certain function. They are connected visually and physically, as well as protected from the elements, by a single flat roof. Perforated teak screens, large openings and an internal garden help residents maintain a strong connection with the natural setting outside, from every part of the house.
The second home is larger and taller, spanning two levels. As opposed to staying low to the ground, like the first home, it is lifted in a composition of orthogonal volumes – some open air, some enclosed, housing various functions. Living spaces are flowing and open, combining inside and outside areas for a lifestyle that embraces the outdoors. The horizontal roof feature appears here too, bringing everything together, while creating a unifying aesthetic between the two retreats. The play of light and shadow is also important in this structure, enhanced by double-height spaces indoors.
Sustainable strategies include working with the region's climate to create rooms that are naturally lit and ventilated as much as possible, using shading, planting and air flow to cool the interiors down. Solar panels provide hot water, and rainwater is collected in the expansive roof structures and used for garden irrigation.
‘We decided to blend the tropical jungle into the houses whilst creating bioclimatic comfort for people to enjoy the outdoor experience,’ says studio founder Benjamin G Saxe.
INFORMATION
-
Aesop’s Salone del Mobile 2024 installations in Milan are multisensory experiencesAesop has partnered with Salone del Mobile to launch a series of installations across Milan, tapping into sight, touch, taste, and scent
-
Dial into the Boring Phone and more smartphone alternativesFrom the deliberately dull new Boring Phone to Honor’s latest hook-up with Porsche, a host of new devices that do the phone thing slightly differently
-
Berlinde De Bruyckere’s angels without faces touch down in Venice churchBelgian artist Berlinde De Bruyckere’s recent archangel sculptures occupy the 16th-century white marble Abbazia di San Giorgio Maggiore for the Venice Biennale 2024
-
Extraordinary escapes: where would you like to be?Peruse and lose yourself in these extraordinary escapes; there's nothing better to get the creative juices flowing than a healthy dose of daydreaming
-
Year in review: top 10 houses of 2022, selected by Wallpaper* architecture editor Ellie StathakiWallpaper’s Ellie Stathaki reveals her top 10 houses of 2022 – from modernist reinventions to urban extensions and idyllic retreats
-
Roz Barr’s terrace house extension is a minimalist reimaginingTerrace house extension by Roz Barr Architects transforms Victorian London home through pared-down elegance
-
Tree View House blends warm modernism and natureNorth London's Tree View House by Neil Dusheiko Architects draws on Delhi and California living
-
Maison de Verre: a dramatic glass house in France by Studio Odile DecqMaison de Verre in Carantec is a glass box with a difference, housing a calming interior with a science fiction edge
-
Modernist Coromandel farmhouse refreshed by Frankie Pappas, Mayat Hart and Thomashoff+PartnerAn iconic Coromandel farmhouse is being reimagined by the South African architectural collaborative of Frankie Pappas, Mayat Hart and Thomashoff+Partner
-
East London house extension infuses Victorian home with warm modernismBlurton Road by London architecture studio Emil Eve is a residential extension project that transforms a modest Clapton house
-
Pergola Extension transforms Victorian Melbourne homePergola Extension by Krisna Cheung Architects offers a contemporary touch to a Victorian Melbourne property, infusing it with sustainability and generosity of space
