Ageing with dignity
This project became a close and personal dialogue with our clients over the course of 4 years.
Our clients are three elders who used to live in a 70 square meters apartment in Mexico City and who invested most of their savings in this project.
Alejandra, a retired dentist, likes to cook and take care of her plants.She spends most of her time taking care of her mother, an 89-year-old woman with very limited mobility. Alejandra, as well, has limited mobility, so accessibility was a key aspect for the design and layout of the house.
Jorge, a retired government official, seems to be immersed in his own world and enjoys conversating and spending time in his great hobby: watching and collecting old movies.
How and when this project arose is irrelevant.The process was enriched by this dialogue that culminated in the linking of the atmospheres that the patios now grant us, the contact with nature, the tranquility of the private and family space and above all, the conviction that this house, more than a building, is a possibility of ageing with dignity.
Cantellano House
The house is located at the southwest of Pachuca City, Hidalgo, within a housing development.
It was built on a flat, orthogonal terrain with two fronts.
The house’s vocation is to be a place for retirement, making mobility and comfort its main design constraints.
The house is totally accessible. The essential spaces, such as the bedrooms, living area and kitchen are located on the ground floor, while the second floor is reserved for recreation space: a small cinema room and a reading studio. The vertical connection is given though an elevating platform, having the stair as an alternative.
The project seeks, through a sequence of three patios and a double height in the living area, linking the life of the two stories both, in the public and private areas.
Every space has a continuity towards light, vegetation, and the sky.
The volume is divided horizontally in two: below, we find a solid presence where earth materializes through handcrafted, local brick; above, we find three light and transparent volumes that work as pavilions configuring two open terrace areas.
Team:
Architecture: Omar Vergara Taller + Renata de Miguel
DesignTeam: Omar Vergara, Renata de Miguel, Rodrigo Trejo
Technical Team: Francisco Méndez, Julio Hernandez
Photographs: César Belio