úbáli tropical living builds eco-friendly modular house in rural costa rica

with costa rica’s goal is to become carbon neutral by 2021, the team at úbáli tropical living has been set the task of designing cabins with a minimal ecological footprint. the project, which focuses on building eco-friendly modular structures, has been developed to provide both residential and hotel accommodation for a franco-costa rican alliance.

all images courtesy of úbáli tropical living

the owners arthur micheron, architect, and pablo valle, civil engineer of úbáli tropical living, created a line of modular houses designed as customizable products in accordance with the costa rican physical, social and economic context. its creation was named úbáli, which means chameleon in the costa rican indigenous language bribri. this name highlights the importance of the structures to embrace the tropical context and generate experiences with the comfort and modernity of urban life in rural contexts.

the first modular house model, the úbali 1.0 model, kabëk (quetzal), is ideally suited for mountain climates. this model has an atypical concept, with an intimate shape that communicates with nature so that guests have privacy and dialogue with the space around them. its flexible structure allows it to adapt to sloping terrain, dense forests and humid tropical climates.

the cabin includes all the electromechanical installations, the septic tank and the facilities necessary for its operation. the modulation of the cabins allows to make certain adjustments to shorten or enlarge the cab according to changing needs. the structure is lightweight in metal construction with an external lining in industrial zinc and internal walls in gypsum and densglass.

úbáli’s appeal lies in two essential parameters, the economic interest and the short construction time. it is built with a surface and a tighter budget, defined based on an analysis of investments in that sector and with the premise that they are models that will be replicated. the duration of the procedures is used to realize the prefabrication, which allows the project to be installed within 7 weeks after obtaining the permits.

customers can request complementary services in case they want to build a swimming pool, a terrace, access, landscaping and even have an accompaniment in interior design. they also have the subscription of a maintenance service to facilitate customer operations. úbáli also offers the possibility of making unique designs and hope to be able to ship their models in other countries.

project info:

project name: kabek quetzal

location: costa rica

design: úbáli tropical living

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.

edited by: lynne myers | designboom