House and Studio in Mar Chapalico

The house was built for an urban geographer in a mid-century garden city by the country’s largest lake, long a retirement place for foreigners. The district has wide streets and rich vegetation, but its architecture mostly repeats folkloric styles, and the plot has no direct view of the lake.

The Mexican design team asked whether a building could evoke the form of its landscape. The lake was formed by volcanic activity, and in the rainy season water rises from the ground and runs toward it. The house is designed to recall this natural cycle.

Its roof collects rainwater and leads it through downspouts into the garden, and the house opens to the climate with patios, covered terraces and white walls set against a dark brick studio.