LOMAS HOUSE

RESIDENTIAL

Zapopan, JAL, MX

2008

Marcos Garcia

Federico Diaz

Design: Elías Rizo / Alejandro Rizo

Lomas House is located on a private residential development in the periphery of Guadalajara. It is built on a 3,000 sqmt site facing a quiet street on one side and a golf course at its back. The program is contained in 3 volumes according to each space’s privacy requirements. A partially detached prism covered in wood slats faces the street and acts as a threshold which contains the garage and a wide pedestrian entry tunnel. Access through this point leads to an open yard, partially enclosed by the L-shaped volumes that house the main living spaces.

 

The left volume, which houses all circulation, service and auxiliary spaces displays a considerable level of transparency, compared to its frontal counterpart, which contains all rooms and living spaces and is therefore much more enclosed and opaque. A logic for the material palette is evident as the base is cladded with dark, opaque materials, rich in texture, and the second story is covered with pale stone horizontal tiles. A grid of stone pavers, boarded by a short hedge directs visitors to the left, towards the more public wing of the house. Access to this wing is provided through a large wooden door, underneath a thin concrete awning that extends the whole length of the volume. An entry vestibule reveals a series of possible pathways which include the stairways, leading up to the dormitories, and a hallway that directs users to the living spaces on the ground floor.

 

The program contained in the third volume opens up to take in the views of the golf course at the back. The living and dining spaces on the ground floor connect to an outdoor stone slab terrace through a system of operable glazing units which can be hidden completely to allow wide, unobstructed views of the field. Solar incidence on the rooms is mediated through a system of sliding wooden screen panels.