step inside lopez gonzalez studio’s dark-toned residence in xalapa, mexico

‘house in xalapa’ appears as if carved within a rock formation

 

Completed by Lopez Gonzalez Studio for a growing Mexican family, ‘House in Xalapa’ is a private dwelling organized around a continuous dialogue with its surrounding, lush landscape. Fitted with a dark-colored exterior, the structure evokes the idea of a home carved inside a rock formation, giving off a dramatic and solid stature. 

 

‘The place proposes an idea of dwelling founded upon the characteristics, conditions, and resources of the territory. Similarly, architecture is thought of here so that it can allow for time to do its work over the constructed area: plants will grow, walls will become humid and mossy, and the volume will identify more and more with its landscape. It lays down a construction philosophy in which the work does not conclude (it only starts) at the point in which the house begins to live,’ explains the studio. 

all images © César Béjar

 

 

creating an ecosystem of flora, light, and openings 

 

Certain formal gestures complement the idea of a rock formation, like the sectioning of volumes that hint at the shape of a crack or windows that appear sporadically, yet with a balanced rhythm, in different parts of ‘House in Xalapa’. Furthermore, the tour inside proposes a game of changing lights and shadows, with paths that open and close, tighten and widen, and flow into open spaces that secure fresh air and privacy. 

 

More importantly, terraces and windows allow for an evolving conversation with the ample vegetation surrounding the grounds. ‘In the house’s ecosystem, plants become protagonists, establishing a symbiotic relationship similar to the one mutually agreed upon between the moss or the amate tree with the rock,’ elaborates Lopez Gonzalez Studio (see more here). 

 

At nightfall, the house seems to disappear into the darkness, and what remains are small gaps of light revealing a series of quotidian pictures and fleeting glimpses of everyday life. 

 

 

a balanced palette of materials and colors

 

While the exterior is defined by the walls’ rocky tone and the foliage’s green texture, the indoors are dominated by wood — showing up in beams, bookshelves, closets, and furniture. Besides warming up the place, the use of wood establishes yet another conversation with the landscape; its lightened tone complements the dark-colored exterior skin, the green surroundings, and the red window frames, which offer a striking contrast amid the toned-down context.