Seemed to have emerged from the earth while baring an industrial precision that locks the layering of different orthogonal volumes, Casa Nandi is an expression of profuse warmth and calculated restraint. The two-storied residential architecture by Mexican practices Fino Lozano and Moro Taller de Arquitectura reveals a muted edifice in concrete and rammed earth, located in San José de Gracia, a town in the Mexican state of Michoacán de Ocampo. The building locates its domestic functions on the ground floor, whereas the upper storey is a terrace that captures panoramic views of the landscape.

Situated on a north-south facing lot, the 125 square metre private residence features rammed earth construction fused with concrete casting. The design team studied an array of landscapes in Mexico, to be able to arrive at a distinct architectural expression for the project. Rammed earth construction has become a popular building lexicon to convey the essence of Mexican architecture; rosy pink walls of local mud combined with sombre concrete swathes compose brutalist monoliths, with poetic tropical floral accents dotting the edifices. Casa Nandi, in that spirit, stands out yet settles in the place it belongs to.

There are two entry points to the house. One is for the vehicular ingress point and the other opens into the courtyard hall. The gates meticulously affixed within the sculpturesque framework of the walls generate a compelling contrast with their dark grey metallic surface. With a similar rigour, a smattering of small outdoor light fixtures and semi-circular windows on the walls appear seemingly poised as lone sentinels of the house. As one moves in, the black stone floor of the courtyard that leads to the core domestic space of the house is interjected by an open staircase culminating on the terrace.

Large glass doors with iron framework invite one into the common living space that boasts of an open-plan layout. Here, on one side is an informal seating area for guests and the family, while on the other is a kitchen and dining space. The spatial design prompts flexibility within the interiors and eschews a bracketed programmatic functioning, as a large central space ensures an adaptable layout. “The architectural program is designed to be traversed in a way that allows for the contemplation of every corner,” states the design team. The living space opens into a garden that serves as a transition patio connecting it to the master bedroom. The latter, accommodating a bathroom and a closet, features extensive wooden panelling and austere surfaces. A pared back aesthetic clubbed with the bare minimum utilities defines the space.

“The project,” the design team adds, “seeks as its main objectives to be economically and environmentally viable. We developed bio-construction techniques that contribute to composing a work that mimics the landscape and takes into account the simplicity of the place.” As per the studio, further attention has been given to “making the most of the built orientation to generate an illuminated but private atmosphere, which is naturally ventilated and has moments of harmony and tranquillity for its inhabitants.”

Describing the airy vibe of the house and the material layering of its walls, the studio explains, “We proposed a sustainable and simple structure, which at the same time works to generate large clearings inside the house, with a base of pine wood beams and on them a handmade mud brick that receives the slab filled with concrete. This exposes the natural mud and the wooden beams in the lower bed, without the need to cover the material that by nature is pleasant.” The resulting aesthetic delivers a warm monochromatic edifice, in which sharp edges and soft corners are equal and aplenty; the contrasts build the base for a reflective sanctuary.