studio saxe's casa bell-lloc is embedded into costa rican slope

studio saxe introduces its casa bell-lloc, a home perched on the hilltops of the costa rican town of santa teresa. due to the extreme pitch of the terrain, the team embeds the private areas of bedrooms into the ground allowing the main living area the best and most expansive views on top with floating terraces and pool. benjamin g. saxe founder and design director of studio saxe comments: ‘this project is a testament of how concrete can be used in tropical architecture to achieve low maintenance and longevity without loosing openness and deep connections to nature beyond.’

images by andres garcia lachner

in order to adapt to the topographic conditions, studio saxe pushes its casa bell-lloc into the ground, creating the illusion of a one-story house from the street and only revealing its true size once inside. a series of concrete walls shield the house and disguise what will later become a powerful choreographed entrance reveal of the pool and ocean beyond. by keeping the public living spaces above and the more intimate bedrooms below, studio saxe uses the innate characteristics provided by the site to determine the use of spaces. every space that touches the ground is more solid and enclosed, and in contrast every space above ground is open and ephemeral. a long overarching roof line protects the house and frames a feature entrance pool that cantilevers over the jungle.

the casa bell-lloc is constructed in concrete to maximize longevity, less maintenance, and thermal mass during the hot months of the year. the challenge was to also create open spaces in the living areas with long span concrete beans and a light roof that allows for cross ventilation during the rainy and humid months of the year. the result is a series of retaining walls below that house private spaces and beams and columns above that open to the majestic ocean view.

as the team at studio saxe develops its design language, it recognizes its role in sustainable construction. the impact of construction methods and materials is a major factor in the maintenance and longevity of a building in the tropics. this house sets a new direction where a modern long-lasting material like concrete can be profusely used throughout without losing basic bio-climatic principles of tropical design such as long roof eaves, cross ventilation, water collection, and many more.