luis carbonell builds mexican getaway complex out of existing stone house

casa chulavista is an intervention on a pre-existing house

immersed in an abundant natural valley environment, casa chulavista sits a few hours from mexico city near valle de bravo, a place set apart by its splendid flora and fauna. led luis carbonell, the project is a getaway residential complex built within rancho chipicas, an enclosure for the agriculture of organic products and other farm activities. as an intervention of a pre-existing house, the new setup seeks to amplify the built environment into the landscape. 

all images © camila cossio

connecting spaces via bridges and superpositioning 

the premises of casa chulavista’s context define the rules for luis carbonell’s intervention (see works here). first, to preserve the predominant trees around the house and second, to transform the space in the least intrusive way. under these criteria, the extension takes place on the west side — connecting with the main structure through bridges and volumetric superpositions. using the same architectural language and materials existing on-site, the scheme thus turns into an integrative process. specifically, the new construction is based on verticality to narrate the history of layers, rhythms, and patterns.

the team kept the shared and public activities within the original house while private areas interconnect via a new set of bridges that create an extension on the first floor, unfolding from a new expanse. this new circulation makes a gradual transition into privacy, reducing the height across the hallway, which then again expands into a new and open high ceiling-space. ‘the visual connections are preserved, whereas new environments emerged along with a series of gardens in between,’ states luis carbonell. 

unfolding into one another / creating visual coherence 

on the second floor, cohesiveness acquires another form. to start, the bridge overlaps with the existing tower while the bathrooms and service areas remain consistent as vertical sweeps to the adjacent rooms in both floors. the structural solution here becomes a critical component for an atypical relationship between both constructions — old and new: the addition is supported, hung, and loaded as a strip, connecting all structural elements through beams and slabs.

‘by doing this transfer of loads, we manage to avoid the central support, and therefore, the interior span is free and interconnected. an open ground floor is perceived lightly and flows into the three stair-connected levels. all rooms are visually connected, individually unfolding into their full amplitude and height. altogether these extensions co-exist and adapt to the program and activities to serve,’ explains luis carbonell. 

as such, the floor evolves and develops into part of the furniture only to morph into the stairwell, playing with the borders of materiality and textures. spaces, then, are uncovered by one another: the living room ascends to the studio halfway. it then reaches the bedroom that exits onto the balcony and connects with an exterior staircase leading to the rooftop — the final extension of the new architecture — where a panoramic view of the valley reveals itself.

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project info:

name: casa chulavista

location: rancho chipicas, near valle de bravo, mexico
architecture: luis carbonell

head of project: gerardo casasola

construction management and execution: operadora XGS  / arturo nuñez, irving esquivel, mauricio toribio

carpentry and furniture: agustin r. seidler / julio fernandez
photography: camila cossio

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: lea zeitoun | designboom