In our current lifestyles shaped around clamour disguised as urgencies, the allure of a stiller, simpler life nurtured by nature beckons quiet strength and catches the wishes of many. There is wisdom in realising how architecture can enable this experience, through built forms that turn to nature in a bid to settle this yearning for a tranquil, calmer existence. What defines the parametric intent of designing these sanctuaries of living amid natural settings?

Casa Roca by Pérez Palacios Arquitectos Asociados (PPAA) was conceived with the same premise—of offering exceptional views to its prime location spelt by natural surroundings in Yosemite Lakes in California, US. Driven by the primary aim of maximising these framed vistas and creating visual transparency, the Roca House takes full advantage and inspiration from its site, immediately captivating in its simplicity and the picturesque landscape in which it resides. “Casa Roca is a house that takes its name from its site. It is a project that becomes an integral part of the surrounding landscape—the rock on one side and the view of Yosemite Lakes Park on the other. The essence of the project, simply, is of framing nature,” reiterates the studio based in Mexico City, Mexico.

Highly contextually determined, the residence lives through the site in which it is built, inching closer to its clients’ dream of a radically simple existence surrounded by nature: Juan Pablo Santillan and Tania Alvarado are a couple from Orange County who routinely brought their family to the area over the years, to stay in a cottage located on 10 hectares of land. This context reminded Santillan of his carefree childhood days, where he spent ample time outdoors with his brothers, sisters, and cousins.

Desiring the same, freeing experiences for their children, the couple decided to buy land near Lake Yosemite to build their dream nature retreat and commissioned PPAA with a brief to let the built remain in perpetual dialogue with its site. Here, it is not the architecture that takes the spotlight, but rather the site itself, which emerges as the true protagonist enabled through the built, and dictates it.

According to the firm’s founder, Mexican architect Pablo Pérez Palacios, the contextual architecture maximises the experience of nature “from the inside out". A prominent feature of the contemporary architecture is its expansive, clinically geometric east-west aperture positioned centrally within its rectangular floor plan, which significantly enhances views of its natural surroundings.

Articulated as a cuboidal volume topped by an imperceptibly sloping roof, Casa Roca employs exposed materials which remain in conversation with the rocky natural landscape, providing it with its distinguishing look. This ‘relevant gesture’ of the roof’s slope fitted with solar panels also corresponds to that of the mountain. Wood was deployed as the material protagonist, dressing the structure’s skin in a darker complexion and turning warmer on the inside. In dialogue are details in concrete and stone, which complement the use of wood. Additionally, the site’s stones were preserved and included as an integral part of the residential architecture.

The design, as the structure, is intentional and boils down to the essential, giving rise to all the elements working together in an honest, humble synthesis. The covered floors of the home are left bare intentionally, while the presence of three large rocks nearby creates a visual link, succeeding in generating a sense of continuity with the surrounding rocky landscape, and alluding to the name of the home, which translates to the ‘rock house.’

Consequently, the spatial distribution of the humble American architecture was done chiefly to orient the living spaces towards the most impressive views—PPAA achieved this through strategic incorporation of openings that not only let in natural light but also connect residents with nature even when they are inside the house. Likewise, an outdoor recreational space takes residence at the centre of the residential design, where inhabitants are free to take in and enjoy the serenity of the natural environment.

As one enters the contextual design’s main space, a visible cut divides the home to define its common areas. The main area hosts the living room, as well as the kitchen and dining space, and benefits greatly from the two wide openings to the site’s rock, as well as the scenic view over the whole of Yosemite Lakes Park. Venturing further into the other end of Casa Roca’s interior design, one encounters its private spaces containing the bedrooms, which boast specific views facing a particular direction and landscape.

“In short, this Yosemite Lakes house was designed to offer visual transparency, allowing residents to feel immersed in the mountainous setting and natural elements to become an integral part of the Yosemite Lakes living experience,” the firm conveys.

“In PPAA, we conceive architecture as an open message, tested by the multiple relationships of its environment: the context and all its factors--geography, time, programme—influence our architecture and give rise to sensory atmospheres in which the body, the imagination and the human consciousness are stimulated and provoked. We recognise that built space is as important as empty ones, a term that acquires value when clear intentions are presented. We conceive the void as an open opportunity to propose unexplored and unexpected architectural experiences. For this project, the design philosophy is very clearly expressed through the emphasis on unbuilt space and the definition of the interior space according to the exterior,” Palacios asserts, as PPAA continues to create projects with the same ethos, connecting with and exploring nature to imagine fresher, more contextually-driven, cohesive designs.

Project Details

Name: Roca House
Location: Yosemite Lakes, California, USA
Year of completion: 2023
Architect: PPAA