The lot in the San Sebastián neighborhood in Mérida had a narrow street access, just enough to accommodate a pedestrian and a vehicular entrance. The austere facade did not hint at what the architects from the Mexican firm Taller Estilo Arquitectura found as they moved further into the property: a courtyard with existing vegetation. The main feature was an old tamarind tree, “which shaded a large part of the land at the back,” described Atahualpa Hernández, one of the firm’s directors, along with Víctor Cruz and Luis Armando Estrada.
“In the old neighborhoods of Mérida, these courtyards are shared; in this case, it mostly belonged to the project’s property,” explained Atahualpa Hernández. In this special context, the architects had to design the house for the owners, a couple of artists: a visual artist and a writer and graphic designer.
“The clients wanted to recreate the atmosphere of the old haciendas, not in form but in essence, so it was important that the spaces be organized around the gardens and open areas,” continued Atahualpa Hernández. It was also essential that all the rooms could enjoy a direct connection with the outdoors.
Contemporary Hacienda
It was not about copying a style but reinterpreting the spirit of the haciendas in an authentic and contemporary way. The emphasis was on thinking about how the spaces are lived in, how the materials “age gracefully,” with a patina that gives them character, and on high-quality spaces that are “aware of their surroundings and materiality.”
Source: AD Magazine
