Casa Símera is a hybrid project that combines a café with a hot Pilates and yoga studio, a space to arrive, stay and move between different states of activity and calm.

 The project is a continuation of a previous experience in Puebla called Símera, a café that had cabinets with false vaults: the vault was visible, but a void above. For Casa Símera that idea was reinterpreted in a more formal and architectural way. Beyond the shape itself, the reference was meant to influence the way the space is inhabited and perceived.

The design was also determined by the physical condition of the premises: a low space, barely 2.10 m high in some areas. Coming from the exterior (where tall trees and open sky frame the parking lot) the sudden entry into a dark, compressed interior felt like bowing down. This moment of contraction became the core of the narrative, leading to the quadruple height of the atrium, where natural light and vertical greenery opens up the horizon. This sequence (from openness to compression and back to expansion) was intensified to create a journey full of transitions and surprises.

 Under a canopy of vegetation, a stone path leads to a shaded terrace and a landscaped entrance that works more as a threshold than a commercial façade. The café is organized as a series of sculpted grottos, with curved benches, integrated tables and warm, low lighting. The brick floor and earth-toned stucco walls make it feel warm, while the textured surfaces change with the light.

The construction of the vaults was an experimental process, defined on site. The work was done as if excavating a solid block, trying to have the walls embrace the space and each cave find its proportion. One of them extended to the street to capture natural light and be visible from the pavement, to attract passersby.

 You never see everything at once. From the bar, the quadruple height of the central atrium with skylight and vertical garden can’t be seen, and from the entrance, the successive caves and the final spaciousness can’t be perceived. On the upper level, the wellness studio is an introspective sanctuary: closed, windowless and climate controlled, with warm, diffused light to focus.

Casa Símera is a beat of architecture that compresses and expands, shadows and light, quiet and noise. A space to find yourself in every corner.