This two-home complex in Tepeji del Rio, Hidalgo, Mexico, on the site of the Amanali Golf and Nautical Club, was designed for two brothers who wanted to share a living space at their weekend getaway retreat. But, sibling rivalry struck when the two had different design considerations for a home. Mexico-based [mavarq] architects came to the rescue by designing two homes that shared common design elements and united outdoor spaces, while ensuring that each structure embodied characteristics that reflected the brothers’ individual personalities.
Photos courtesy of [mavarq]; Photograph by Jaime Navarro
One half of the brother duo desired a home with continuous open spaces, maximized views of the surrounding landscape, and an easily accessible, large entertainment room on the upper floor. The DASA house was built predominantly with steel, concrete, and glass to reflect the client’s minimal design aesthetic.
On the other hand, the DATRI house also required open spaces within the home, but with the ability to differentiate the rooms with partitions when necessary, and allow one to discover new spaces as they move throughout the home. While this brother also wanted to use simplistic exterior building materials, he did ask for more ornate interior finishes.
The ground floor of both residences are built of concrete, while the second floors are constructed of brick in various solid and closed form trapezoid shapes.
The two homes converge in an open, outdoor courtyard, with the DASA house lending its terrace and grill and the DATRI house offering its expansive pool and storage spaces. Both homes feature overhangs from the second floors that protrude over the common area. In the center is a covered pool that sits below a stone overhang.
The united space features four small terraces, or levels, that were designed with the natural shift of the land in mind. The first terrace serves as the access level and garage, the second features a contemplative desert garden, and the third is built at the construction level of each home. The fourth terrace is the wood-finished shared outdoor space of both homes. The rear of each home has a garden area that provides continuity to the grass landscape of the adjacent golf course.
The homes are built on symmetrical plots of land, with the site split into two spaces measuring 14 meters long and 36 meters deep. When designing the pool and terrace, the architects considered sunlight, dominant wind patterns, and the topography of the site to arrange the central courtyard elements. The housing complex posed site restraints for the home, allowing 6 meters of open space to the front facing the lake, 7 meters in the back adjacent to the golf course, and 5 meters alongside the common border of both plots of land.
