More of a transparent pavilion engulfed in nature than your typical house design, Casa Erasto is Mexico City based studio Vertebral's latest residential offering. Located near the rich Chapultepec forest, the project responds to its surroundings, conceived as a light glass and concrete structure that blends the indoors and outdoors in an organic and elegant way.
Entry into the house is via a ramp, flanked by foliage and marking a path into what feels, when inside, like an urban structure, in its rough concrete surfaces and all-mod-cons; albeit one that is firmly rooted in its context, as whichever way you look, trees and shrubbery unfold through expansive floor-to-ceiling openings that blur the boundaries between interior and exterior.
Spanning four levels and a roof garden, the house is built simply, using a 6x6m concrete core that rises some 12m high. A central core contains circulation and services, creating a cut through the floor slabs that helps the light, the air - and the eye - travel between levels. Terraces jut out from every floor, appearing as if floating over the leafy garden of the 470 sqm plot. A bamboo perimeter delineates the site's borders, within which grow a weeping willow, jacarandas, atenuatas, ferns, stipas and pampa grass.
The ground level's open plan space contains the kitchen, living and dining areas, as well as a library. One floor down, in the semi-submerged lower ground, is an independent studio, while one floor up sits the master bedroom, bathroom and walk-in wardrobe with an informal family room. The top floor houses two more bedrooms.
Mexico City's warm climate was taken into account by the architects during the design process, so there's plenty of doors planned within the glass expanses, while shading is factored in as demonstrated by the presence of pivoting iron slates; making this family home a modern, but also comfortable environment all year round.
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