edmund sumner captures mexico's zoncuantla apartments

Zoncuantla Apartments by architect Rafael Pardo Ramos

Located in the mesophile forest of the old Xalapa road in Coatepec, Mexico, the Zoncuantla Apartments by architect Rafael Pardo Ramos emerge amid a land of great panoramic qualities. The project site, spanning 860 square meters, boasts a polygonal shape with a steep slope, opening up sweeping views of the Mexican landscape for every apartment floor. British photographer Edmund Sumner has captured the residential project’s unique modernist strokes, its stonework, and multi-layered interiors where light, shadows, and depth come together to create a playful living atmosphere against the nature-infused context.

Zoncuantla Apartments by architect Rafael Pardo Ramos | all images © Edmund Sumner

playful and daylit interiors captured by edmund sumner

The Zoncuantla Apartments by Rafael Pardo Ramos (see more here) respects the natural landscape and allocates more than 50% of the space to green areas. Aesthetically, the project alludes to materials like wood, stone, adobes, clay, and earth tones. Edmund Sumner’s photographs particularly emphasize a wall with rubblework of stone taken from the same land, forming the base of this building.

Moving to the ground-level apartment, a rich garden space with endemic vegetation takes over the plot. At the same time, the upper levels, photographed by Edmund Sumner (more here) get their own terraces, providing them with additional social space and panoramic views. Ultimately, this project invites everyone to go around playful tours through each one of its levels, from public spaces to very private areas. The apartments, meanwhile, accumulate 470 square meters of construction, looking for space optimization without leaving behind the ecosystem in which it was built.

470 sqm of construction