The project resolves a functional residential program on a single level for a retiring couple. It sits on a typical subdivision lot in western Zapopan, Jalisco; a corner plot with a north-south orientation and a western side facade highly exposed to thermal radiation.
Instead of mitigating solar gain through added features, the volumetric configuration functions as a passive filter. The volume closes off toward the western street with solid, blind walls that block direct afternoon radiation. This massive condition creates an introspective entrance that acts as a gradual transition from the street. Upon crossing the threshold, the home opens up completely with controlled luminosity toward the more favorable orientations within the property.

The central premise lies in breaking away from the conventional layout of these developments to guarantee autonomy on the ground floor. This level concentrates public life, services, and the master bedroom, resolving daily activities without relying on vertical circulation. The articulation of this floor is organized around an interior courtyard and a double-height space.
Unlike the common modern layout of an open-plan space, the kitchen was designed segregated from the living room to provide functional independence. However, it maintains a close relationship with the exterior by linking simultaneously to the internal courtyard and the one on the facade. This double opening floods the space with overhead lighting, promotes cross-ventilation, and creates visual focal points toward the vegetation. In addition, the void of the double-height space in the central living room enhances the perception of spaciousness and thermal comfort.

For the upper floor, the project avoids replicating the predominant solution in the area, where lots usually expand through a third level of semi-covered terraces. Instead, a low-scale, honest volumetry was chosen, confining this level exclusively to two guest bedrooms and a covered terrace connected to the voids of the courtyard and the double-height space, safeguarding privacy from the urban environment.
The conceptual honesty extends to the traditional load-bearing wall system and solid concrete slabs. The materiality preserves the exposed concrete elements—using plywood board formwork on walls and phenolic formwork on slabs—exhibiting their structural character. As a counterpart, hand-carved Cantera Piñón stone walls are integrated; a dialogue that provides thermal inertia, low maintenance, and a graceful aging process over time.

Casa Contreras demonstrates that urban complexity and the limitations of a commercial lot do not demand generic solutions. The work establishes itself as a timeless and silent piece, becoming a massive and introspective refuge that prioritizes human scale and the quality of daily life.