cadaval & solà-morales sets the ombra house around double-height courtyard in mexico

cadaval & solà-morales has built the ombra house in monterrey, mexico, as a white excavated cube whose mass has been subtracted to allow its inhabitation. the 608 sqm residence is set around a central double-height courtyard, which, together with terraces, visual frames, and windows form the palette of drilling strategies that transgress the purity of the almost perfect cube.all images by the raws

located in the municipality of san pedro garza garcia, in the metropolitan area of monterrey, the ombra house by cadaval & solà-morales is built around a central courtyard which acts as an extension of the interior spaces. its pergola-like roof provides a porous limit that allows residents to feel protected in this interior-exterior space, while at the same time it mitigates the high solar incidence prevalent in this area of northern mexico. picking up the medieval european tradition, the main floor of the house has been elevated one level above street level in order to provide greater thermal comfort and great privacy, allowing to have big openings without being observed from street.

the house was built with no specific user in mind, since it was created for sorteostec lottery, and will be drawn, with all benefits obtained going to scholarships for low-income students. internally, the residence encloses all common living spaces on the main floor, including the living room, dining room, kitchen, breakfast room and TV room. these have been organized around the central courtyard: an open space that helps to build a continuum between the rooms and the pool that is contained between the walls of the courtyard, and open to the adjacent garden.

the upper floor is reserved for the private uses of the house: three rooms and a studio, which enjoy stunning views of the sierra madre of monterrey through large terraces and windows. below the main level, the ground floor contains a cinema, playground and service areas. ‘despite such an elementary programmatic organization in the different floors of the house, spatial reading is organized through a unique vertical hole, building an intricate cross-view space that makes the void the real protagonist of the project,’ notes the barcelona- and mexico city-based firm.