have to paint this house,’ the architect
says of the zero-maintenance façades,
while naturalistic planting is designed to
emphasise the blurry distinction between
site and landscape.
By creating a separate building for each
function, the architects circumvented the
need to change levels; the topography does
all the work, with a few discreet external
stone steps taking account of the slopes.
The four structures at the west of the site
are the lowest, with green roofs that allow
them to blend in to the horizon. They
include the garage, at the north-west
corner, a utility room, a children’s sleeping
block and the kitchen. The latter is linked
by a glass walkway to the grand dining room,
a two-storey pavilion with the family room
above. A more formal sitting room is placed
at the south-east point of the site, beneath
a planted roof terrace up at canopy level.
The master bedroom suite is above
the children’s bedroom, sitting alongside
a further sleeping pavilion with another
terrace above. Finally, the circle of structures
is complete with a double guest room with
a sleeping loft.
Privacy is key. The kitchen is the only
pavilion with a window facing onto the
internal patio, while the independent nature
of each structure allows groups of guests
to stay in the house without bumping into
each other (except at breakfast).
The internal terrace is designed to
catch the sun for outdoor dining (when
it’s warm enough). ‘The life of the house
is concentrated here,’ Canales says, ‘but
when you’re inside you have a very diferent
outlook. The courtyard is the only place you
get a sense of all of the volumes together.’
Internal inishes include more dark stainedconcrete, together with stone, wood and
traditional-style tiles in the kitchen. ‘The
wood is a warm contrast to the exterior stone
and concrete – it softens the space,’ Canales
acknowledges. ‘Everything is designed to be
simple and low maintenance.’
The Mexico City-based architect
combines her practice with teaching, writing
and curating, as well as collaborating with
other local architects such as Rodríguez, and
Saidee Springall and Jose Castillo of A|911.
Canales’ written work includes biographies
of the country’s most famous 20th-century
architects, and she has also contributed to
the Venice Biennale. Casa Bruma takes the
typology of the private house to another
level, artfully scattering its core components
and creating a self-contained domestic
world that begs further exploration. ∂
fernandacanales.comThe overall eect is
of stumbling across an
abandoned village in
among the vegetation
LEFT, THE LIVING ROOM,
WITH A LEATHER SOFA
AND BUTTERFLY CHAIRS,
BOTH BY STUDIO ROCA,
AND, IN THE CORNER,
AN ‘AMELIA’ PENDANT
LAMP BY DAVID POMPA
BELOW, ONE OF THE
PROPERTY’S ROOF
TERRACES, WITH VIEWS
OF THE SURROUNDING
PAVILIONS AND TREES144 ∑
In Residence