Casa Colorada, designed by Once Once Arquitectura, is a country house in the colonial and tourist town of Valle de Bravo, 140 km away from Mexico City. With a lake, oak and pine forests, rivers, and outdoor activities such as walks, mountain bike tours, paragliding and hang gliding, CC’s location within this privileged environment is highly advantageous
Casa Colorada (CC) owes its name to the clay red soil color of the mountain where it is built. The terrain presented special demands as it was elongated, with steep slopes and many pine and oak trees. It was decided to put the architectural program maintaining all the trees and only transplanting the small ones, for which the architects played with the geometries of the house and built it on columns that allow the trees to remain free below. In the wide front terrace, multiple gaps were designed for tree trunks and branches for generating shade and greenery for the house.
The house is accessed through the upper part of the terrain and entered through a vehicular narrow and winding road following which, the rear facade of the house presents itself as sober and minimalist, with a few small windows, and everything in clay red, behind dense vegetation.
Upon entering CC at the ground floor level, the hall receives and distributes towards the kitchen, toilet, living room, and dining room, as well as stairs that connect with the upper floor that has four bedrooms with their own terraces and views. The living and dining room is a spacious, open space that connects to an intimate backyard, as well as a large open terrace with a pool and jacuzzi, with views of the lake, town, and mountains. At the end of the terrace, there is a covered stall in a wedge shape with its fireplace to enjoy the natural environment while being protected from the sun and rain. The interior patio is well-lit and ventilated - a monastic place surrounded by vegetation. The kitchen has a bar that joins its own terrace fully shaded by several trees.
The materials were carefully chosen to range between the traditional and industrial. Traditionally, the walls are made of annealed red partition plastered with cement and sand, the roofs are made of beams and planks of oyamel wood from the area (with FSC type certificate), mud panel floors, and volcanic stone enclosure inside, as well as a clay tile roof. Industrially, a very mechanized partition was achieved - rugged for durability and reduced maintenance thermally bridged windows and double glass to reduce the need to use a fireplace indoors, LED lighting, bathroom and furniture based on blacksmithing with wood veneer carpentry. In short, the house offers maximum thermal comfort in all seasons without the need for environmental conditioning systems.
Photo credit: Camila Cossio
Source: v2.Com
