Tejocote House

Tejocote House | Querétaro, Mexico | 2021
[González Muchow Arquitectura]

Casa Tejocote is a single-family home located in a semi-urban context from Querétaro, Mexico. It is a project that through its materials and its simple composition represents the vernacular architecture of the region, which seeks to integrate with the semi-desert landscape that surrounds it.

The volumetry was conceived from the premise of giving spaces the greatest possible privacy. Since by regulations of the housing estate it is not allowed to build fences, the house’s scheme acts as a wall that surrounds and protects the living spaces. The program was divided into four solid volumes that delimit a large central garden and are linked through a bridge of lighter character. These four modules were intervened with meticulous incisions either to open subtle light entrances; provide views that frame the landscape or integrate the interior with the exterior spaces.

With 650 square meters of construction, Casa Tejocote is distributed on two levels that separate the social areas from the private areas. The ground floor houses a living room, dining room, kitchen, and service spaces, while on the top floor there are three bedrooms and a family room.

All interior spaces have a semi-open character, having the possibility of opening onto an interior patio or garden, under the same idea of inhabiting the house inward with some privacy, without losing contact with the exterior. The central garden plays a fundamental role in the habitability of the house since the modules seek to open up towards it, allowing the family to carry out activities in coexistence with nature. The wild and endemic vegetation of the region surrounds the house and integrates the architecture with the surrounding landscape.

The warmth and simplicity in both the interior and exterior spaces are a constant in the atmosphere of the house. The pigmented concrete in its tepetate color shades gives a more welcoming character to the spaces it surrounds, matching natural light and the landscape. The use of discreet materials causes light and space itself to be the protagonists of the house. However, elementary details such as solid wood in furniture and ironwork; as well as brick floors and pasta mosaics, complement this sensation of serenity that the spaces transmit.

The structure is made up of reinforced concrete elements that shape the main volumes. The thick walls are raised in layers poured every 80 centimeters. This modulation rules the height and modulation of interior spaces, openings, and various details throughout the house. The orthogonal rigidity of the volumes is softened by curved details that cause a more sensitive relationship towards the spatial geometry. Text description by the architects.