This house in Mexico is created up from a series of concrete boxes, which are staggered across a steep website to take in views of Lake Avándaro (+ slideshow).
Mexican studio Taller Hector Barroso designed Toucan Home for a family in Valle de Bravo, a region around one hundred miles south-west of Mexico City.
Set on a web site with a 14 metre height variation among its lowest and highest elements, the residence is split across 4 ranges. Concrete and glass pods are separated by gardens, terraces and balconies that overlook the artificial lake and its shoreline.
“Utilizing the uneven topography, the project created via a sequence of staggered sections making pavilions at distinct ranges, maximising the views towards the lake,” explained architects Héctor Barroso Riba and Andrea Pérez Salazar.
“The concrete pavilions are interrupting by gaps – gardens, terraces, balconies and patios – seeking to prolong the interior spaces to the exterior, generating virtually imperceptible the division among each,” they additional.
Associated story: 3archlab’s concrete courtyard house is positioned towards a cliff
The board-marked concrete walls have been tinted with soil excavated from the web site to support the property blend with the colouring of the landscape. Dark steel, stone and orangey-toned timber details visually break up the construction.
The lowest volume is made up of the residing area. It opens onto the property’s backyard, which attributes a timber sun deck and a concrete pool. The deck and garden are littered with lumps of craggy rock.
“The residence merges with the surroundings and turns into part of the all-natural landscape, permitting the contemplation of the setting,” stated the architects.
“The wind, normal light, nature and its sounds take possession of the location and turn into important elements of the property,” they added.
Within, hewn rock walls are paired with concrete and timber. Bedrooms and bathrooms are set on the uppermost ranges, in which wide windows and glass doors open onto terraces or frame views of the lake.
Taller Hector Barroso has previously designed a courtyard property in Mexico City, which is clad in grey stone and pine slats.
Photography is by Rafael Gamo.
Project credits:
Architecture: Taller Hector Barroso
Architects: Héctor Barroso Riba, Andrea Pérez Salazar
Collaborators: Diego Rentería, Eduardo Carbajal, Vianney Watine
Location plan – click for more substantial picture 
Ground floor plan – click for bigger picture 
First floor prepare – click for greater picture 
2nd floor strategy – click for more substantial picture 
Third floor strategy – click for bigger picture 
Elevation – click for greater picture 
