Raw House by Taller Estilo Arquitectura is located in Yucatan, Mexico, on a small lot only 6.5m W x 27.5m L, with neighboring houses on both sides. To create privacy for the skinny concrete home, the exterior side walls extend out beyond the back facade to create privacy walls and a pair of double height glass doors, positioned between the two walls, open outwards toward the backyard pool and terrace.
The use of the double height glass doors was to create as much airflow as possible within the long and narrow home. With the pool located just a few feet away, the hot Mexican air is cooled as it passes over the water before entering the home.
The location of the home is densely populated, and the ability to create a private oasis in the backyard could only be achieved by extending the side walls around the rear courtyard.
The garage and entrance are at the front of the home, and when the front door is open, air can pass through the otherwise closed interior, linking at the point of an air chimney.
A dry landscaping used in the front yard includes plants, pebbles, concrete pavers and glass balls for a little bit of whimsy and, of course, adding to the whimsy is the fun street sign displayed proudly next to the main entrance.
A glass wall on the east of the home acts like an air chimney while at the same time helping draw natural light into the depth of the home.
Raw House is made with readily available locally sourced materials such as concrete, cement block, metal fittings and glass, all left exposed to highlight the natural beauty of the raw materials and to showcase the history of the home’s structure.
The wood from recycled doors was integrated throughout the home to layer in an added sense of history and warmth.
A single steel stairwell on the side of the interior morphs into two rows of the kitchen cabinetry, which along with the dining and living areas take up most of the lower level.
The ceiling of the kitchen is the mezzanine above which is where the home’s study is located. Both levels take advantage of the double height glass doors that open to the backyard.
The backyard is a private oasis amid the jungle of buildings that surround Raw House, thanks to the stacked concrete bricks that surround it.
Most of the courtyard is taken up by the pool, but carefully placed plants and a few lime green seats keeps the terrace feeling much larger then it actually is.
The double height glass doors are fitted on the outside with curtains that can be drawn during the day for shade or at night for privacy.
The living room, positioned next to the double height glass doors, acts as an extension to the courtyard when the doors are open, and when they are shut the living room becomes a private and cozy place to hang out.
Although the home is so narrow, the side glass wall positioned away from the concrete block wall, helps to create the illusion of width to the design.
This illusion of width continues on the second, mezzanine level. The stairwell that arrives at the mezzanine stops for a landing before continuing on up to the third floor.
While the first flight of stairs is an open steel design, the second flight is more contained and arrives at a hallway that follows its length as it passes by a rooftop deck positioned between the bedroom and the bathroom.
The rooftop deck is surrounded on two sides by glass doors that slide and stack out of the way, creating the perfect outdoor moment within the bedroom itself.
On the other side of the rooftop deck and right next to the stairwell landing is the bathroom.
The hallway is a bridge connecting the bedroom, rooftop deck and bathroom.
Taller Estilo Arquitectura
Photography by David Cervera
When building homes in hot climates cross ventilation is a great way of adding passive cooling to a home. Since Raw House is sandwiched tightly between its neighbors, Taller Estiolo Ariquitectura needed to be creative to achieve cross ventilation but on larger sites where neighboring houses are at a distance, the easiest way to achieve passive cooling is to open both sides.
