Dune House is a beach residence on the Yucatán coast, conceived as a sanctuary for family life shaped by shade, wind, and the presence of the ocean.

The project begins with a clear premise: to preserve the existing native vegetation and reposition the coastal dune as an essential protagonist of the landscape—an element often overshadowed by the sea—while still framing the region’s characteristic emerald horizon.

The architectural parti places the built volume at the farthest limit of the tide’s reach, allowing the dune to act as both a natural and spatial mediator between the house and the shoreline. This strategy reinforces a symbiotic relationship between architecture and ecosystem.

At the seed of the project is a 1,130 sq ft terrace, conceived as both void and threshold. Its geometry emphasizes a horizontal visual field, framing the coastal horizon while organizing the house around it. More than an outdoor space, the terrace acts as the project’s spatial and social heart, where all programs converge, physically or visually.

The composition is defined by the superposition of three volumes. At ground level, two longitudinal bars oriented north–south contain the interior social spaces and service areas. Above them, a perpendicular east–west volume houses the private program. Their intersection produces a shaded central space—an inhabited void that anchors the domestic experience.

To the south, a double-height living and dining core connects the interior to the terrace, counterbalancing its horizontality. This space is animated by natural light entering through garden openings, visual axes extending across the terrace toward the dune and the sea, and overhead skylights that wash surfaces and guide movement throughout the house.

On the upper level, circulation continues along a corridor shaped by filtered zenithal light, where subtle shifts in scale mediate access to the bedrooms.

The volumetric interplay generates two exterior courtyards connected by the terrace: to the south, an entry garden defined by solid elements that gradually reveal the interior; and to the north, a courtyard that reinforces the tradition of outdoor living along the coast.

Dune House ultimately performa as a stage for the Yucatán landscape: the sea assumes a leading role, while the coastal dune—beyond its ecological function—frames and transforms the experience of the horizon, acting as a backdrop at ground level and opening into expansive views from the private spaces above.