Casa Garza
In order to intervene with an existing building, it is vital to get to know it profoundly and thus understand its ideas, its history, its memories, and its possibilities. Today, Casa Garza is the place it's always been, only now with a more liberating and transparent structure. Designing is like reconstructing alongside history.
“A site is transformed into a place when you've had sentimental experiences in it."
Aldo Rossi
The possibilities of a constructed place.
At the end of a road, an extraordinary plot of land sits on a hill alongside a river that flows down from the city of Cuernavaca.
Upon the plot of land is a house that was built in the early '90s. Its roof tiles remind us of the tropicalized postmodernism that was stipulated by the housing estate at the time.
The two-story structure spanning 10 x 10 m (32.8 sq ft) is connected by a bridge to the carport that houses two guest rooms beneath it.
A bridge extending from the carport, which houses two guest bedrooms beneath it, connects to a two-story structure spanning 10 x 10 m (32.8 sq ft), accessing the structure from the second level and also connecting to a vertical passageway that leads down to the garden.
The interior of the original dwelling was isolated from the landscape, its immediate context being the sum of imposing façades made from "cookie-cutter" materials and gestures.
How could we construct a silence amongst so much noise within the residential area?
How could we make a more open connection between the house structure and the carport, knowing that it must still go across at the same height?
How could we transform the transitory sites into places of interest?
The architectural proposal consisted of completely liberating the walls and bearing the weight on metal columns, which would allow for structure, transparency and ventilation at the same time, opening the house up to the landscape. Such circulation throughout the house places value on the outdoors and makes the most of the climate in the region.
The proposal called to demolish unused areas and transform them into the most important connections. A dark and empty room is turned into a patio-staircase entryway. A secluded, sunny terrace is turned into a living room-dining room-terrace and is incorporated into the main area of the house.
In order to intervene with an existing building, it is vital to get to know it profoundly and thus understand its ideas, its history, its memories, and its possibilities. Today, Casa Garza is the place it's always been, only now with a more liberating and transparent structure. Designing is like reconstructing alongside history.
