Mexican architecture firm RootStudio has completed a concrete hotel in Oaxaca that was constructed in stages as a "habitable sculpture".
Located on the outskirts of Oaxaca, Hotel Flavia was commissioned in stages based and grew on a steep site with dramatic views of the nearby mountain range.
RootStudio designed a boutique hotel in Oaxaca
"A client asked us for a habitable object," said RootStudio, led by João Boto Caiero and Fulvio Capurso.
"As we progressed with the project, it was done without plans because it was done on the ground."
It was made primarily out of concrete
"It was not a project made or developed on a computer program. The hotel was designed as its construction progressed,"
"As the dimension grew, the sculpture grew larger and in the end, it became a public place, a hotel and restaurant," it added. The building is organized around a central courtyard filled with endemic vegetation selected by landscape architect Luis Zárate.
It is oriented around a large courtyard
This feature draws inspiration from Oaxaca's courtyard houses and is intended as a focal point for the hotel's communal areas.
Visitors enter from the top level and make their way down towards the hotel's rooms and amenities.
The hotel's windows frame views of the mountain range
"When you enter from the street it is a single floor and as you go down you have four levels," said RootStudio.
"You live different experiences within the...