The project operates off the grid through a 10-kW photovoltaic array and an on-site water treatment and storage system, the trio of buildings each collect rainwater, connecting to a reservoir and on-site treatment and storage system that supplies 100% of the home’s water year-round. The structure makes the most out of the area’s wet and rainy summers and extremely dry winters.
A chemical-free blackwater treatment system treats all wastewater on-site, returning it to the site’s water cycle as greywater for use in toilets, and to irrigate the on-site orchard.
The trails connect the spaces and also serve as bioswales that conduct rainwater to the home’s reservoirs and help prevent site erosion. Bio-agriculture gardens and an orchard on site are designed around syntropic agriculture principles to create a healthy, self-contained food system.
While the main house takes the form of a pavilion that allows for outdoor use year-round and is oriented towards horizontal views out to the landscape in all four directions, the bathhouse inverts this relationship by vertical orienting between sky and water, with four activities: hot bath, sauna, steam shower, and washroom. In the middle of the three structures, a cold plunge pool at the centre and open to the sky.
Rain Harvest Home by Robert Hutchison and Javier Sánchez. Photograph by Cesar Bejar.
Rain Harvest Home by Robert Hutchison and Javier Sánchez. Photograph by Cesar Bejar.
Project description by Robert Hutchison Architecture & Javier Sanchez Arquitectos
Casa Cosecha de Lluvia is located in the mountains south of Valle de Bravo, approximately two hours west of Mexico City carefully positioned to enjoy the natural landscape offered by the Xinantécatl Volcano (Nevado de Toluca). Located in a rural development that contains lots for houses and a natural reserve of medium mountain forest, with a hydrological system based on the collection of rainwater through a system of interconnected dams that work by gravity. The objective was to produce a residence that could function independently of the network, through a photovoltaic solar array and a water collection, treatment and storage system; that work in conjunction with a local climate where summers are humid and winters extremely arid.
In this region, similar to other areas surrounding the Valley of Mexico, water has become an increasingly valuable resource as temperatures rise and populations increase. Even when the region experiences a strong rainy season, rainwater harvesting is not a common practice. Instead, extracting water from distant river basins has become the national practice.
The project promotes an alternative route, from a comprehensive vision, which proposes to design regeneratively with the region's natural water and permaculture; establishing a holistic and integrated relationship between people and the ecosystem. In addition to contributing to the restoration of the region's microclimate, the project serves as a testimonial to the potential of rainwater harvesting to create autonomous, off-grid water systems that eliminate reliance on a municipal supply. Above any other environmental component, conserving and improving the quality of water as a limited resource has the potential to drastically improve the sustainability of built environments in Mexico and other regions.
The three pavilions that make up the complex were conceived as porticos whose materiality allows their presence to vanish among the vegetation to experience the landscape. Enjoying the sunny days in the sun, and the rainy days undercover.
Rain Harvest Home by Robert Hutchison and Javier Sánchez. Photograph by Cesar Bejar.
House
A raised foundation of concrete and volcanic stone serves as a platform for the interior and exterior spaces of the house, while the floating roof is supported by a structure of load-bearing wooden walls and a perimeter steel colonnade. The structure is complemented by three skylights directed to the East, West and South respectively, to generate favourable sunlight inside.
Under the portico, two boxes were built: one for services to the North (warehouse, bathroom, pantry, closets, laundry room) and another for rooms to the South. Between the two boxes, a semi-open space is generated to the East and West where the kitchen is located. The program is completed with an outdoor dining room to the East, and an outdoor living room with a fireplace to the West.
Rain Harvest Home by Robert Hutchison and Javier Sánchez. Photograph by Cesar Bejar.
Keyline design
The key line or keyline design (created by P. A. Yeomans in 1954) is a system that allows the use of water and the regeneration of meadows.
It is about projecting the landscape so that the speed of the water is reduced and its rapid infiltration is allowed, without the need to make terraces. Instead, a series of "key lines" are drawn in which trenches are dug that lead the water to some jagüeyes (water reservoirs).
This methodology makes it possible to promote resistance to drought, erosion and flooding. And simultaneously, it improves the construction of soil from the generation of biomass, which also helps to retain moisture in the soil.
Rain Harvest Home by Robert Hutchison and Javier Sánchez. Photograph by Cesar Bejar.
Study
The study offers an emancipated workspace. Its living room offers an open space with a free configuration, complemented by a private terrace that frames the sky and the landscape with its perimeter walls.
Alternatively, the study can be converted into a guest room.
Spa
The spa proposes a poetic dialogue with the natural qualities of water through four perimeter spaces: a thermal bath, a sauna, a steam shower and a sink. In the centre, they surround a cold plunge pool open to the sky, filled with rainwater.
