Description of the project by ZD+A
House OL, located on the outskirts of Mexico City, consists in 40 lots, each with 5,000 m².
When we started the design process, none of the neighboring lots had started to build. The environment with the intact nature, inspired the team's first reaction: to preserve that same condition in every way.
The place
The house is perceived as an integral part of its surroundings, as if it was born of the own land. We decided to place it in a clearing of the ground to preserve as many trees as possible and avoid unnecessary earth movements. Figuratively and literally, every space in this house has a direct connection to the exterior.
The scheme
In order to avoid surround the house creating a physical barrier within the natural landscape, a "privacy filter" has been designed, hiding or protecting the opening of the house from the street view. This filter consists of a sequence of stone walls that allow different spaces to be completely opened to the landscape and also views without compromising privacy.
In the perpendicular plane of these stone walls, there is a straight line that materialized as a floating entrance bridge that becomes a corridor and ends up as an exterior water mirror that divides the main functions of the house: public spaces, by one side and the other private rooms. Volumetrically this scheme allows the landscape to flow in and out of the spaces, blurring the divide between the house and the garden and allowing them to function as "one."
The materials
The selection of materials and finishes was of special importance in our goal of linking the building to the landscape. Marble was used as one of the main elements to achieve its natural integration. Glass, concrete, wood, stone and steel were also used to complement the main design goal.
Three walls of solid stone with rough finish (from a quarry of the region) organize, structure and contain the house. Concrete and steel define the structural elements, sometimes at rest and others on cantilever over the ground.
