Casa B is located in Gringo Hill, a residential area near the beach, on the outskirts of the city of San José del Cabo. The house unfolds on a hill with a steep slope in a non-urbanized area, looking towards the Mar de Cortes and embraced by the endemic nature of the desert.
The client wanted to live in a contemporary house with an industrial style, but to feel comfortable at the same time, incorporating natural materials and traditional technologies. BTC (compressed earth blocks) resulted to be a good alternative to the common concrete blocks used in the area, creating the aesthetic illusion of an industrial material with ecological principles, where local earth is used as the main construction material.
The house is developed on three floors that are incorporated into the hill, creating outdoor spaces in each level - a hall way that receives the visitor in each floor. To access the property, a winging path guides through the main gate to the basement level, a stone box that supports all the building.
This solution results from the natural adaptation to the sloped land and, at the same time, to preserve the endemic plants, a torote and an ancient cardon, that were preserved and integrated into the design.
Passing the stone basement that incorporates the storage, concrete stairs surround an old cactus “cardon” and take the visitor to the first floor where the kitchen and a living room are designed in an open space. Large windows open the view to a balcony with metal railings that follows along the whole exterior façade with a panoramic view to the natural surroundings.
Two bedrooms with private bathroom are directly connected to the common area, separated by two large industrial wooden doors, creating sense of continuity throughout the whole floor.
Turning around the first floor hall way, long diagonal concrete stairs guides the visitor to the third floor where the master bedroom and a large terrace open to a panoramic view of Mar the Cortes.
The spacious terrace is covered with a vertical metal structure that supports a wooden pergola, providing shade and comfort to the kitchen and lounge. This floor is totally independent with all the necessary services, being able to become independent in the future.
The BTC is used as a load bearing material, supporting large concrete slabs that create the balconies, extending the house to the outside and, at the same time, working as a protection – a “good hat” – that protects the walls from possible erosion from the heavy rainsthat typically occurs during the summer. The high stone base prevents possible water erosion by the sliding water and dirt coming down from thehill and roof.
The horizontal effect created by the BTC lines, the concrete chains and the large balconies, helps to diminish the vertical scale of the building that climbs through the slope in 3 levels.
The materials were used in its most raw form and left with no finishing: the woodencovers and furniture were left rustic and unpolished, the kitchen island was made of rammed earth due to its aesthetic and colorful appearance; the steel doors rusted over time; the polished concrete floor; the textured compressed earth blocks were just protected with a sealant.
The use of natural materials such as “palo de arco” rods, wood and BTC with other industrial ones, create a particular aesthetic and allow a dialogue between tradition
and modernity promoting the revitalization of traditional construction techniques, validating their application in the contemporary world.
