A+Awards: we're launching a major collaboration with Architizer profiling winners from its A+Awards. First up is this house in the Mexican highlands, with rammed-earth walls made from soil excavated on site (+ slideshow).

Casa Candelaria by the Mexico City-based firm is located on the outskirts of San Miguel de Allende, a city in Mexico's central highlands.

The design of the 1,50o square-metre home is based on the traditional Mexican hacienda, with living areas arranged around courtyards.

The 50-centimetre-thick rammed-earth walls are made using soil that was excavated directly from the site, with natural pigments added to create an ash-toned finish.

This material helps insulate the house in an area where the temperature can drop dramatically at night.
Related story: The Cave is a rammed-earth and stone villa in a Mexico wildlife conservation facility

Using materials sourced on site also helped reduce the cost of the project.

The house is split into four main volumes, with a central courtyard that has a concrete roof structure.

Inside, the floors and fittings are made from parota wood, also known as Guanacaste wood after one of the central-American region it grows in. The same wood is used on the full-height window shutters.

Casa Candelaria was one of winners of the Private House (1,000 to 3,000 square foot) category at the 2016 Architizer A+Awards, which promote and celebrate the year's best architecture and products.
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