A Mexican clifftop retreat offers both drama, and a sense of place

Nestled between rock, sea and sky, this clifftop retreat on Mexico's Pacific Coast is nothing if not dramatic. Of course, when a client comes asking for 'something extraordinary,' there is no reason to hold back. This was exactly the case for Zozaya Arquitectos, who were invited to create a private retreat in their home town of Zihuatanejo that 'would defy convention, a structure that felt singular and paradigm-breaking.'

Casa Piscina del cielo, a dramatic clifftop retreat on Mexico's Pacific Coast

The result was Casa Piscina del cielo, a generous home sprawled across 1,900 sq m, and including two generous bedrooms, an independent guest wing, several indoor and outdoor living spaces, a wealth of leisure rooms, such as a cinema and a gym, and supporting areas for storage and services. The star protagonist among them, however, is without a doubt the long, blue swimming pool that juts out of the main home and towards the ocean, strikingly hanging off the cliff.

The home was conceived to be woven into the cliff and green surroundings, ensuring it marks its presence with a few distinctive features, but at the same time feels unobtrusive from the mainland, and does not jar in its natural setting. The entrance emerges from the ground among native foliage, responding to the land's natural contours.

Walking through a central courtyard off the main entrance, visitors are guided into the heart of the home: an expansive living space, including a kitchen, dining area and terrace. It all sits under a palapa - a traditional Mexican roofing structure often made of palm leaves - leading to the pool deck and the 27-meter-long body of water looking out towards the horizon.

The architects, headed by practice founder Enrique Zozaya, write of the experience of standing on the pool deck: 'Through a window embedded in the pool’s floor, you can watch the waves crash against the cliffs below—creating the surreal sensation of floating, as if the sea and sky had merged beneath your feet.'

The relationship between indoors and outdoors is prominent throughout, offering both a sense of space and a connection with the elements in this part of the world, where the climate is pleasant almost year-round.

Landscape design by Taller Entorno is crucial in creating this feeling of effortless flow and in crafting the outdoors to both connect with the interior but also the wider environment. The architects explain: 'The landscaping reinforces the illusion that the house has always belonged here, that nature simply shaped itself around it.'

Sustainability was among the architects' considerations too, ensuring the house has passive heating, cooling and ventilation, uses environment-sensitive materials such as the palapa, and a water treatment plant for greywater recycles greywater for irrigation.

'This house does not merely occupy the land—it listens to it, interprets it, and elevates it,' the architects conclude.