palma designs a house with a courtyard as part of earthquake reconstruction in mexico

architecture office palma has realized a 45 sqm blockwork dwelling for an 8-year-old boy called axel and his grandparents in ocuilán, mexico. the project joins part of an initiative to build new homes for families that were affected by the 2017 earthquake that devastated central mexico. 

images by luis young

the house for axel occupies the rear of a site owned by his grandparents. the families of their two other daughters also live on the same plot. after visiting the family, the team at palma planned a square-shaped dwelling with three bedrooms: one for axel, one for the grandparents, and one spare bedroom that can accommodate another family member when they need it.

the three bedrooms are organized at the rear of the house, facing lush vegetation. the other half of the floor plan is separated by a small corridor and comprises a kitchen, a central courtyard, and a bathroom. the patio serves as a workspace for axel’s grandmother, whose daily work consists of cleaning cactus spines and who wanted to have some outdoor space that was directly related to the kitchen. this side of the house faces the front of the site and boasts privileged views.

all the houses of the reconstruction initiative had to be built with a 45 sqm footage and using the same donated block. to give the limited floor area a sense of spaciousness, palma configured the project as a series of independent walls that, by framing certain visuals along the daily route, provide depth beyond the built limits. although the floor plan of the house is simple, a square of 7 meters per side with a small central patio, the use of these walls helps avoid a simple and direct reading of the interior space, affording surprising spatial experiences.

palma’s contribution to the reconstruir méxico initiative joins projects by 50 architectural firms, including works by PPAA, taller paralelo, and dosa studio + rojkind arquitectos. the initiative has been funded by #lovearmyméxico and supported by different institutions such as fundación origen, ¡échale! a tu casa, fideicomiso fuerza méxico and pienza sostenible.

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project info:

name: ocuilán

location: mexico

architect: palma

area: 45 sqm (484 sqft)

year: 2021

photography: luis young | @_luisyoung