Guadalajara-based architect Moises Sánchez has created a stucco-clad, cube-shaped holiday home shaded by a large tree in western Mexico.
The simple, 450-square foot (42-square metre) structure, known as Tonalli House, was completed in 2023 in Jocotepec, Jalisco, minutes from Lake Chapala, the country's largest lake.
Tonalli House is shaped like a cube
"The project arises from the pursuit of a peaceful experience, drawing inspiration from the rhythms and atmospheres of the popular architecture in Mexican villages," Sánchez told Dezeen.
From the outside, the house is a solid white cube, punctuated with strategic openings.
Using local construction systems, materials and labor, the cube is formed with brick walls plastered with a mix of sand and mortar to create two textures ? a rough, stone-like base and a smooth monolithic form above. The holiday home is punctuated with strategic openings
However, Sánchez prioritised the existing landscape in his description of the project.
"The true protagonist of the project is a large tree and its relationship with the built environment," Sánchez said.
"Its roots create a natural vestibule, serving as the entrance to the volume, the trunk and leaves act as a crowning feature in the views from the interior, while its form and shade simultaneously regulate the microclimate of the surroundings."
Multi-coloured ceramic tiles feature in the kitchen
Occupants step from the tree-formed vestibule into a double-he...