c3 arquitectos builds private residence with verdant protected patios in mexico

c3 arquitectos introduces ‘casa jacarandas’, a single-family residence with verdant courtyards, situated in jalisco, mexico. looking for both coexistence and independence, the dwelling attaches itself to the neighboring houses, while generating a series of open patios, as voids that enrich and enhance the occupants’ living experience. 

all images by lorena darquea

at the pedestrian entrance, on the sidewalk, residents are greeted by a portico that leads to one of the patios, called ‘calzada de las jacarandas’. the building by c3 arquitectos emerges as a large, heavy monolith closed towards the street, but open towards the interior.

the house does not include a defined main access point, guiding occupants through a sliding folding window system that opens wide, integrating the interior to the exterior and vice versa. the ground floor organizes the social areas of the house, while all interior open onto one of the three patios of the project: the ‘calzada de las jacarandas’, the ‘patio de la fuente’ and the ‘patio de los reflejos’.

the upper levels are accessed through a lightweight staircase, suspended by means of steel tensioners that give way to the railing. the layout allocates the bedrooms upstairs, along with the TV room. bedrooms are all different from each other, designed according to the needs and lifestyle of each person, but still maintaining in close contact with the outside.

vegetation, water, and light play a significant role in the project, with these elements being considered as architectural, atmospheric and bioclimatic at the same time. in the future, the plants are expected to ‘invade’ the space and mitigate the presence of the building. the project seeks to generate an architecture that operates more as an organizational mechanism ‘conquered’ by nature. 

project info:

name: casa jacarandas
architects: c3 arquitectos
design team: jaime castiello chavez, jaime castiello gomez verea, fernando castiello gomez verea, david urbina solorio
landscape design: entreplantas construction fractal

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.