Cachai House
The project started when our client found an abandoned old house from the 1960’s located in the neighborhood Lomas de Chapultepec, one of the most desired urban areas in Mexico City.
The main idea of the project was to take advantage of most of the structural elements of the original house to make it profitable.
The entrance from the street to the house is through a large corridor next to the parking space; at the end of which the user finds out a great pool with a void that opens to the sky and a levitating stair that mixed with natural light gives a different effect of lights, shadows and reflections through all day long. Next to this void and under need the garden we created a mix used space that can be used as an underground bar / family room or as a suite for guests; in all sceneries, the user doesn´t need to enter the house, giving total privacy.
From the levitating staircase going up to the next level we arrive to the main floor of the house appears, with a great flat garden at the front and the volume of the house at the back.
At the entrance of the house a great foyer is located next to a zen-garden that connects the interior with the exterior, bringing some light and nature to the construction.
As mentioned before, the structure of the house was the respected, and it was designed in half levels; the foyer is connected through a staircase to the public area of the house connected to an elevated terrace that sees to the flat garden, giving the possibility of connecting the interior with the exterior.
At the center of the house we generated a small backyard with another water element and a Japanese guava tree, which is the central axis for ventilation and natural light to the interior spaces.
The next half level is the semi-private area in which the dinner is located next to the family kitchen; a space designed for the clients who love to cook and share at the same time with their most intimate friends and family, so we designed an open terrace with a small dinner and a family room.
The next half levels are where the private areas or rooms are located, each one with his own ventilated bathroom and closet; in this spaces terraces play a very important roll so each space has a real connection with the outside; taking advantage of the context.
Besides all the data mentioned before the house was thought as a self-sufficient and ecological house providing the design with new technologies as solar energy, rain harvesting system and sewage treatment plant.
