Studio Saxe’s twin villas in Costa Rica make for the perfect tropical retreat

the pool at joya villas by studio saxe in costa rica
Studio Saxe’s Joya Villas offer a balanced blend of contemporary architecture and tropical nature, set in Costa Rica’s Santa Teresa rainforest
(Image credit: Andres Garcia Lachner)

If one were to paint a picture of the perfect tropical retreat, it would surely involve large open spaces, swathes of concrete, wood and glass, generous openings that create a seamless transition between the interiors and the lush greenery and bright sunlight outside. Studio Saxe has it nailed with not one, but two neighbouring houses in Costa Rica’s Santa Teresa rainforest. 

The Joya Villas, a set of modern homes designed as rental properties, are head architect Benjamin Garcia Saxe’s latest residential offering. The San Jose-based architect likes to explore the relationship between architecture and the natural environment, and this commission gave him the perfect excuse to test out his studies.

Layout

(Image credit: Andres Garcia Lachner)

Take an interactive tour of Joya Villas

The houses are nestled on a hillside and jut out of the area’s rich forest vegetation, standing out with their steel frames and rectangular forms. Aiming to use modernist forms and an international, contemporary design language, the studio paired the structural steel with naked concrete and wooden screens and doors, referencing both historical and modern Central American tropical architecture. 

Dramatic cantilevers hang over the houses’ main living spaces, offering shade and protection from the region’s warm sun. The large openings and delicate details – such as the floating staircases – engender a sense of lightness. The interior follows a traditional arrangement, with living spaces on the ground level, leading out to a terrace with swimming pool, while private rooms are tucked away above. 

‘Joya Villas is a clear reflection of a new wave of contextual contemporary tropical architecture that is born from and adapts to its precise location, land contours, and climate’, says Garcia Saxe. ‘Everything we do at Studio Saxe is focused on trying to enhance the experience of the natural in the inhabitant of spaces and perhaps even create moments of relaxation and reflection. This train of thought and the architecture that is emerging could begin to be considered as the birth of an authentic Central American Tropical Architecture.’

Living spaces and the pool at Joya Villas in costa rica

The set of twin houses sit next to each other, jutting out of the lush forest vegetation and looking out towards the sea. 

(Image credit: Andres Garcia Lachner)

Living spaces and the pool at Joya Villas in costa rica

The house follows a traditional internal arrangement with main living spaces placed on the ground level.

(Image credit: Andres Garcia Lachner)

Open-plan living room of Joya Villas in Costa Rica

The generous open-plan living room spills out to the terrace and swimming pool.

(Image credit: Andres Garcia Lachner)

The kitchen and dining area of Joya Villa in Cost Rica

Living spaces are connected with the houses’ state-of-the-art kitchen and dinning areas.

(Image credit: Andres Garcia Lachner)

Bedrooms at Joya Villa in Cost Rica

The bedrooms are situated on the first floor, tucked away above the treetops

(Image credit: Andres Garcia Lachner)

Joya Villa’s double bedrooms have floor-to-ceiling openings to the natural surroundings

Each house features three large double bedrooms with floor-to-ceiling openings towards the foliage.

(Image credit: Andres Garcia Lachner)

Ensuite bathrooms at Villa Joya blend with the lush vegetation outside

Each of them comes with its own en suite bathroom.

(Image credit: Andres Garcia Lachner)

A floating staircase at Villa Joya in Costa Rica

Delicate detailing and a floating staircase create a sense of lightness.

(Image credit: Andres Garcia Lachner)

Incredible views from Villa Joya in Costa Rica

Views out can be enjoyed from every part of the complex, framed by the structure’s steel beams.

(Image credit: Andres Garcia Lachner)

INFORMATION

For more information visit the website of Studio Saxe

Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director 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), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).