‘Casa
Cuxtitali’
2015 - 2016
Design and realization living room / kitchen space
In collaboration with: Dirk Gonzalez and Steven van Beijeren
Site: Cuxtitali, San Cristobal de Las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico
Client: Marlou Veugelers
The different rooms of Casa Cuxtitali are scattered and hidden within the nature of the site. Next to an existing casita and a natural toilet, the brief was to ad a cistern (water reservoir) and a living room/ kitchen as a small free-standing building on the terrain. We adopted traditional building methods and designed with local materials. The earth of the terrain is used to make adobe bricks (with our own hand and feet), strengthened with pine needles (juncia) from the surrounding. The core of the design is a firm, curving adobe wall, which insulates sound, heat and provides the necessary privacy. In addition, two brick walls are sloping down to allow a diagonal view towards the valley and hide some of the neighbor’s presence. The room opens up towards the wild terrain, which is part of the living space.
