Villa Petricor

Villa Petricor | Tulum, Mexico | 2022
[CO-LAB Design Office]

Petricor, the earthy aroma that is produced when rain falls on dry soil, reminds us of the feeling of peace that is nature renewing itself, through tranquility and stillness. Villa Petricor connects us with the natural world by providing spaces that encourage us to slow down and marvel at the beauty of the present moment.

This villa was built around several groups of existing trees and was oriented to take advantage of the prevailing winds. By carefully planning the windows around the trees, green views fill the rooms, allowing natural light to filter in, decorating the walls with projected and moving shadows.

This three-bedroom house with arched openings creates seamless transitions between indoor and outdoor spaces. On the ground floor, an open living space connects with the pool through large arched pivot windows.

A tropical garden surrounds the house, creating privacy while providing a lush backdrop to all the rooms. In the master suite, the bedroom, lounge, and terrace blend into a continuous space through cascading level changes. Built-in furniture, such as the platform bed and benches, merge with the walls, floor, and vaulted arched ceiling, creating a continuous and seamless space.

Four skylights were introduced to bring natural light and ventilation to all the interior spaces of the villa. The washed light on the walls and floors enhances the texture of the polished cement interiors, revealing the perfectly imperfect handiwork of local artisans. The shadows cast by the surrounding vegetation further amplify the presence of nature in every room of the house.

The finishes were custom made and meticulously studied to merge all the elements, creating a serene and calming interior. The polished cement walls and terrazzo floors are colored with mineral pigments mixed on-site to seamlessly blend, revealing a sculpted monolithic interior. The soft earth-toned fabrics complement the furniture and decor designed and manufactured by the architectural studio itself. The dining table, with its grooved support leg, was directly fused into the construction and completed with a Santo Tomás marble top, cut and processed on-site. Santo Tomás marble is also used in the kitchen countertops and bathrooms.

The luminous concrete elements were designed and manufactured in the CO-LAB workshop and were dyed to match the color range. The wooden chairs were designed by the studio and manufactured in collaboration with a local carpenter. The pivot windows were custom-designed and manufactured from laminated stainless steel tube frames with embedded frames. Text description by the architects.