Creating a home that fosters a close relationship with nature; making the most of the region's natural light; and producing a compact house that causes minimal intrusion on the surrounding natural landscape were all key drivers in the design development of Casa El Aguacate, a Mexican retreat outside Monterrey by the locally based studio Práctica Arquitectura. The single-level, minimalist architecture of this pink house was composed around a series of interconnected open-air patios, a flowing, airy interior, natural light and smart circulation plans.
The project was a private commission for a holiday home for a young family of four – a couple and their toddlers. ‘El Aguacate seeks to be the interface between its inhabitants and the place in which it is deployed; a welcoming space for rest and coexistence,’ the architecture team explains. A geometric, almost minimalist approach helps instil clarity in the studio's vision and a neutral background for life to unfold inside the home.
The generous living space with its 4.5m-high conical skylight becomes the heart of the relatively compact – at 165 sq m – home. The opening helps filter light down and throughout the interior all day, aided by the large windows that wrap the house. The three patios and a main, paved and sheltered terrace provide direct contact with the outdoors.
A textured treatment in the building’s distinctive pink-ish render means the volume’s clean geometries feel warm and tactile – instead of harsh and clinical. 'The sobriety and solidity of the exterior together with the landscape design in apparent stone accentuate the stony and monolithic appearance of the house, creating a dialogue through colour and texture with the intense green of the garden and the character of the site,' the team expands.
Treating this weekend, softly pink house as an exercise in simplicity, Práctica Arquitectura was keen to strip back the clutter and design a structure that is fit for purpose but features ‘only what is necessary’. The architects’ design, they stress, is not about scale or budget, but the perfect execution of an idea for a simple, both practical and uplifting, everyday space.
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