Mexican home is perfectly adapted to an outdoor lifestyle
A family home in Tepejí del Río, designed by architect Romero de la Mora, is anchored in the landscape, pleasant climate and indoor/outdoor lifestyle of central Mexico
This Mexican home, set on the hills of the Amanali area in the city of Tepejí del Río, takes its cues from its site and the climate and surrounding landscape of the state of Hidalgo. Casa Romero, the brainchild of Mexico City-based architect Romero de la Mora, was designed to create a seamless indoor/outdoor lifestyle for its residents.
‘The particular challenge of this house was to better understand the environment, the distinctive components of the area where the Mexican Bajío begins, which has certain charms and characteristics,' says the architect. He is talking about the wider region, known as Bajío, which is recognized for its pleasant climate and good quality of life.
A strong spatial relationship between inside and outside was a key concern in the design solution. As a result, the house combines large openings, framed views at strategic places and a fluid, open-plan living, dining and bar area that opens onto the garden thanks to retractable doors. This makes having a meal inside feel like an entirely al fresco experience. A further external entertaining space outside, with a decked terrace and a pool, completes the residents' options for outdoor living and socializing.
Elsewhere inside, the house includes a kitchen and family room, and a bar with a more formal dining area. There are three double bedrooms – one of them being an expansive master suite that occupies the whole second floor.
Materials are fairly modest and were chosen for being locally sourced, simple and durable. There's perfectly poured reinforced concrete, tactile cement-sand blocks, and textured stone from the region, as well as warm pine wood and expert blacksmithing. This emphasis on natural materials also means the structure will weather with age and continue to look good as time passes.
INFORMATION
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
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).
-
The Park: step inside Jeremy King's mid-century diner
One of several 2024 openings from restauranteur, Jeremy King, food critic Ben McCormack books in at The Park
By Ben McCormack Published
-
Six brilliant bars for your 2025 celebrations, hot off the Wallpaper* travel desk
Wallpaper’s most-read bar reviews of the year can't be wrong: here’s inspiration for your festive and new year plans, from a swanky Las Vegas lounge to a minimalist London drinking den
By Sofia de la Cruz Published
-
Misfires and Monstrosities: three vehicular design disasters that show taste is in retreat
From a multi-million dollar piece merchandise to a wretched Rolls-Royce, these are the low points of the year in transportation design
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Mexico's long-lived football club Atlas FC unveils its new grounds
Sordo Madaleno designs a new home for Atlas FC; welcome to Academia Atlas, including six professional football fields, clubhouses, applied sport science facilities and administrative offices
By Tianna Williams Published
-
Discover Casa Roja, a red spatial exploration of a house in Mexico
Casa Roja, a red house in Mexico by architect Angel Garcia, is a spatial exploration of indoor and outdoor relationships with a deeply site-specific approach
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
HW Studio’s Casa Emma transforms a humble terrace house into a realm of light and space
The living spaces in HW Studio’s Casa Emma, a new one-bedroom house in Morelia, Mexico, appear to have been carved from a solid structure
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
An Oaxacan retreat offers a new take on the Mexican region's architecture
This Oaxacan retreat, Casa Caimán by Mexican practice Bloqe Arquitectura, is a dreamy beachside complex on the Pacific coast
By Léa Teuscher Published
-
Take a plunge at Brandílera House on the Mexican Pacific Coast
Brandílera House by Manuel Cervantes Estudio is a Mexican Pacific Coast retreat making the most of its views and green site
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Step inside Quinto Sol house, a verdant oasis in Mexico's Pacific Coast
Quinto Sol house by architect Cristina Grappin blends indoors and outdoors in a masterful architectural composition in the Mexican countryside
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Remembering Alexandros Tombazis (1939-2024), and the Metabolist architecture of this 1970s eco-pioneer
Back in September 2010 (W*138), we explored the legacy and history of Greek architect Alexandros Tombazis, who this month celebrates his 80th birthday.
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Lucha Libre and modernist architecture meet in Mexican short film ‘El Luchador’
‘El Luchador’ blends Lucha Libre and architecture, in a Mexican short film set in Agustín Hernández Navarro's modernist home Casa Praxis in Mexico City
By Ellie Stathaki Published