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Casual and organic, V Taller’s Casa Duraznos flaunts a geometric, fragmented layout

The Mexican home with a promenade for an entrance references the haciendas of Yucatan, its concrete architecture with varying heights establishing rich encounters with nature.

by STIRworldPublished on : Mar 15, 2021

Casa Duraznos, designed by V Taller, imbibes elements from hacienda architecture, a traditional architectural style original to Spain and Mexico, such as white stucco walls, courtyards, arched features and simple exteriors with little to no decoration. Lush greens make friends with weighty concrete volumes of varying heights to create a fragmented layout, giving each room in the dwelling its own unique atmosphere.

“Casa Duraznos is the natural result of a series of casual and organic connections,” share project leads, Daniel Villanueva and Miguel Valverde. “Throughout the house we also tried to generate a series of encounters between nature and architecture with the intention of emulating the behaviour of the vegetation in Chiapas or in The Huasteca Potosina, where foliage can be found in any surface available,” they continue.

  • Façade at the rear | Casa Duraznos designed by V Taller | STIRworld
    Façade at the rear Image: Fernanda Leonel de Cervantes, Daniel Villanueva, Miguel Valverde
  • Façade and entrance | Casa Duraznos designed by V Taller | STIRworld
    Façade and entrance Image: Fernanda Leonel de Cervantes, Daniel Villanueva, Miguel Valverde
  • Lateral façade detail | Casa Duraznos designed by V Taller | STIRworld
    Lateral façade detail Image: Fernanda Leonel de Cervantes, Daniel Villanueva, Miguel Valverde

Located in Zapopan city in Mexico, the 517 sqm residential architecture is spread across two storeys and a basement, and follows the wishes of the clients who wanted to explore the elements of haciendas. The design team reveals that they incorporated “an atemporal formal language” in the project. Similar to how haciendas are structured by the shape and the weight of the arches, the home employs concrete to do the job. The stucco walls refer to chukum, a material created by mixing limestone-based stucco with resin from the chukum tree, a species native to the Yucatan region of Mexico.

Lateral façade detail | Casa Duraznos designed by V Taller | STIRworld
White stucco walls of the entrance Image: Fernanda Leonel de Cervantes, Daniel Villanueva, Miguel Valverde

The site’s terrain also played a significant role in influencing the design. Based in an urban area, it had a unique, irregular shape that encouraged the architects to visualise a space without an entrance facade. Therefore, the entrance performs as a promenade where visitors are first introduced to a series of walls that eventually guide them to a rich, vibrant green garden.

The ground floor houses a kitchen, dining room and a living area, along with a studio and a small bedroom, all of which share a deep connection to the landscape, generating unexpected encounters at every turn. The top floor shares similar volumes that create a more intimate and private space for the habitants of the house. The basement of the house includes a garage and storage area.

  • Entrance with the lush garden | Casa Duraznos designed by V Taller | STIRworld
    Entrance with the lush garden Image: Fernanda Leonel de Cervantes, Daniel Villanueva, Miguel Valverde
  • Arches at the back façade | Casa Duraznos designed by V Taller | STIRworld
    Arches at the back façade Image: Fernanda Leonel de Cervantes, Daniel Villanueva, Miguel Valverde

V Taller designed Casa Duraznos with an aim to generate an indefinite series of encounters between nature and the house. The site was already home to a Guamuchil tree, and they decided to preserve it in the design; a contained but open space was built around it, making it a focus of the house. This, along with all the verdant plants and quiet setting of the house, makes it a perfect refuge away from the noise of the city.

  • An existing Guamuchil tree was incorporated in the design | Casa Duraznos designed by V Taller | STIRworld
    An existing Guamuchil tree was incorporated in the design Image: Fernanda Leonel de Cervantes, Daniel Villanueva, Miguel Valverde
  • A contained but open space has been built around the tree  | Casa Duraznos designed by V Taller | STIRworld
    A contained but open space has been built around the tree Image: Courtesy of Fernanda Leonel de Cervantes, Daniel Villanueva, Miguel Valverde

As the original owners moved out shortly after the house was completed, this meant that more requests came in from the new inhabitants – they sought to expand the space without hampering the growth of the tree, which was done by expanding the dining and living space at the back. “The original outline of the house allowed the growth easily, continuing the same rich experience of nature in direct communication with architecture,” concludes the Guadalajara-based practice.

  • AInside Casa Duraznos | Casa Duraznos designed by V Taller | STIRworld
    Inside Casa Duraznos Image: Fernanda Leonel de Cervantes, Daniel Villanueva, Miguel Valverde
  • Back garden | Casa Duraznos designed by V Taller | STIRworld
    Back garden Image: Fernanda Leonel de Cervantes, Daniel Villanueva, Miguel Valverde

Project Details

Name: Casa Duraznos
Location: Zapopan, Mexico
Year of Completion: 2019
Type: Residential
Area: 517 sqm
Architects: Daniel Villanueva and Miguel Valverde
Team: Sergio Chavez, Lorena Aguilar, Alejandra Duarte, Andrea Castro, Karina Ortega

(Text by Sharmin Oanali, intern at STIRworld.com)

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