Set amidst a dense neighbourhood in South Tulum, Cuatro Cielos is a cluster of four inward-facing apartments designed by the Mexican architecture firm Void Studio. Enveloped in a subdued façade, the four-unit development is a harmonious composition of materials, textures, solids and voids, light, desert tones and vegetation.
The apartments range from two to three-bedroom units, each with a distinct layout and character, yet all share a mutual connection with the environment and provide quality spaces. The spatial configuration is consciously planned to make the users traverse through the exterior pockets to reach one room from another.
The thought process behind the design was clear, intending to create spaces that reflect the Mexican context of jungles, heat, humidity and skies. In addition to achieving a seamless transition between the indoors and outdoors, the design seeks to create interpersonal connections through interconnecting passageways, bridges, alleys, staircases and courtyards leading to points of visual contact.
The apartments are built in a local material palette to explore the views and environmental factors in their natural form. The walls, floors and pools are built in chukum stucco (a limestone-based stucco derived from mixing cement with the bark of indigenous Chukum trees) along with Maculi wood and Jiles fences. Additionally, accent walls and landscaping gravel also use local limestone.
The material selection and the use of local techniques provide the dwellings resistance against the climatic conditions while creating a poetic feel attained through the interaction of surfaces and sunlight. Colours, textures, landscape and the overall atmosphere of the design evolve gracefully with the changing seasons and course of the day.
