pablo pérez palacios’ ‘casa campanario’ is a house of two halves

pérez palacios arquitectos asociados (PPAA) has teamed up with architect alfonso de la concha rojas to complete a family residence in mexico that forms part of a larger housing development. located in querétaro, a city situated at the heart of the country, ‘casa campanario’ sits on a rectangular site surrounded by open green space — a requirement of the brief. the scheme, which measures 340 square meters (3,660 sqf), is defined by the contrasting façades on its lower and upper levels.

all images by rafael gamo

‘having a rectangular site, restrictions by developers had an important impact on the project’s placement which required front and back free space,’ explains PPAA. ‘these restrictions were taken as having a single green space where the house was to be located on top of, having a side-to-side condition.’ responding to this context, the home’s ground floor opens out onto the garden that surrounds the building.

while the living space on the ground floor remains open to the natural environment, the upper storey provides more secluded spaces. ‘as privacy and light control is needed, a second wooden skin covers the entire façades, which contrasts with the bare concrete structure,’ says the design team. the upper level contains the the dwelling’s sleeping quarters with three bedrooms joining a centrally positioned lounge area.

project info:

name: casa campanario
location: querétaro, mexico
year: 2018
area: 340 sqm | 3,660 sqf
architects: pérez palacios arquitectos asociados + alfonso de la concha rojas
team: pablo pérez palacios, alfonso de la concha rojas, miguel vargas, josé jiménez, frida mouchlian
construction: octavio pérez
photography: rafael gamo