Ermita C70 transforms a 1960s residence in Mérida’s Historic Center through a subtractive intervention: demolishing part of the built structure to reclaim the void as a source of light, ventilation, and social interaction.
Located in the Historic Center of Mérida, Yucatán, the original dwelling occupied nearly the entirety of the plot, leaving barely 7 m² of open area. The existing layout resulted in interior spaces with limited natural light, poor ventilation, and a configuration that no longer met the contemporary needs of its inhabitants. Given these conditions, the project proposed a strategy opposite to conventional expansion: reclaiming the unbuilt footprint to improve the spatial and environmental quality of the home.
The primary intervention involved strategically demolishing 23 m² of the existing structure to create a central patio. This void became the starting point for reconfiguring the domestic program and served as the spatial axis between the private and social areas. Its north-south orientation favors the entry of natural light and enables cross-ventilation toward the two bedrooms and common areas. Additionally, the incorporation of a swimming pool and a communal threshold transforms the patio into the center of daily life, linking domestic activities with the outdoors.
The project preserved the main structure of the existing house, including masonry walls, slabs, and perimeter walls. This decision mitigated the structural impact on the property and optimized existing construction resources, while selective demolitions allowed for the modification of the spatial organization without completely rebuilding the house. The final layout concentrates a 110 m² program around the new patio, integrating two bedrooms with full bathrooms, a half bath, a machine room, a storage room, and a fluid open-plan social zone that brings together the vestibule, an island kitchen, and the dining room.
The tectonic palette establishes a link with the regional context through a combination of carved stone, pasta tiles, and pigmented chukum render. These materials reinterpret traditional Yucacan construction resources through a contemporary expression. Part of the original pasta tile flooring was reclaimed and repurposed in the half bath, extending its lifespan and preserving a tectonic trace of the pre-existing home.
The street-facing facade held no particular architectural value. Instead of preserving it literally, it was modified to establish a new front that replicates the fenestration rhythm and proportion of apertures characteristic of existing buildings in the Historic Center, integrating the house into its urban context without resorting to historical reproduction.
Ermita C70 thus positions rehabilitation as a transformation strategy based on reclaiming essential habitability conditions. Through the preservation of the existing structure and the selective removal of matter, the project turns demolition into a 25 m² patio that organizes the home, enhances its lighting and ventilation, and recovers the daily bond between interior and exterior. The unbuilt void ceases to be unbuilt surface area and becomes the primary catalyst for habitability.
