Elias Rizo Arquitectos

VR Tapalpa House

VR Tapalpa House
© Marcos Garcia

VR Tapalpa House

Elías Rizo Arquitectos

PHOTOGRAPHS
Marcos Garcia

AREA
5400 m²

YEAR
2013

LOCATION
Tapalpa, Mexico

CATEGORY
Houses

Text description provided by architect.

Casa VR, located in a secluded area near the town of Tapalpa, is an exercise in clarity and functionality. The program is arranged on four quadrants, which are defined by the intersection of two main circulation axes.

VR Tapalpa House
© Marcos Garcia
VR Tapalpa House
© Marcos Garcia

Within this system, spaces are distributed according to privacy requirements and affinity. The design of the house was driven by the desire to allow it to connect with the outdoors and to converse with its regional context using a contemporary vocabulary:

the building affords ample views and is accessible through various entry points, while its stark geometry is expressed with local materials and rustic finishes that were executed with precision.

VR Tapalpa House
© Marcos Garcia
VR Tapalpa House
© Marcos Garcia

The house appears as a horizontal element inserted in a forest clearing, surrounded by pines and oaks.

The building’s front façade is fairly opaque and has few openings.

At the back of the house, however, the walls become windows or non-existent, to allow daylight in and to take in the views of a large lawn and the landscape beyond.

VR Tapalpa House
© Marcos Garcia
VR Tapalpa House
© Marcos Garcia

A long circulation axis that runs north – south bisects the house’s rectangular footprint, while a wide entry vestibule splits the building transversally and mediates between the private and public areas of the house.

Within the private (south) block, the longitudinal passageway divides the program into two distinct zones.

VR Tapalpa House
© Marcos Garcia
VR Tapalpa House
© Marcos Garcia

The southeast quadrant contains 3 bedrooms, each fitted with its own bathroom, and a family room; the southwest quadrant houses the service spaces, a stairway and the garage.

On the second level, the master suite spreads out across both quadrants and provides private access to a generous roof terrace.

VR Tapalpa House
© Marcos Garcia
VR Tapalpa House
© Marcos Garcia

In the public (north) block of the house, the longitudinal axis becomes a permeable window membrane that can be hidden away to fuse the northeast and northwest quadrants; these contain the outdoor veranda and the kitchen, dining and living cluster, respectively.

The materials were articulated with great care. The construction consists mainly of a series of masonry walls built from stone of local extraction.

VR Tapalpa House
© Marcos Garcia
VR Tapalpa House
© Marcos Garcia

The private (north) wing of the house is roofed by a concrete slab while the public areas are sheltered by a tiled roof atop wood decking, supported by a series of wooden beams.

A steel frame lifts the eaves to create an inward slope on the roof.

Aside from the ceiling on public areas, wood is also used on cabinetry, on window frames and as sheathing for the master suite block.

VR Tapalpa House
© Marcos Garcia
VR Tapalpa House
© Marcos Garcia

Steel accents are visible in various places throughout the house, like the stair railings, the roof planter-parapet, and the frame at the open end of the second floor volume.


VR Tapalpa House
Floor Plan
VR Tapalpa House
Floor Plan

Elias Rizo Arquitectos
T +52 33 31333739
Elias Rizo Arquitectos
Calle Gral. Eulogio Parra 2802, Prados Providencia, 44670 Guadalajara, Jal., Mexico