Mexico City firm Sordo Madaleno Arquitectos has stepped and staggered a series of buildings and terraces to form the sprawling Solaz resort in Los Cabos.
The property sits on 24 acres (9.8 hectares) of rugged waterfront terrain on the Baja Peninsula between Cabo San Lucas and the historic San Jose del Cabo.
“The extraordinary natural surroundings of the peninsula of Baja California with its semi-desert landscape in shades of ocher, contrasting with the deep blue of the Sea of Cortez, provides an ideal selected context for the construction of a new landmark hotel for the country,” the team said in a statement.
The concept aims to integrate the resort’s structures into its surroundings by leveraging “organic forms that refer to the movement of the waves”.
The plot’s steep topography led Sordo Madaleno to create three large curved terraces that cascade down the rocky slope in an east-to-west fashion. They rise in a stepped format, with all-south-facing facilities that overlook the ocean.
Narrow walkways with dense planting allow passage through the terraces, while ensuring privacy to nearby rooms. A beach club and multiple infinity pools are located at the bottom of the hill.
The resort’s principal building resembles three, two-storey blocks stacked on top of each other. These are staggered to display “a great plasticity of form and organic movement”.
This blocks house 115 deluxe rooms, 13 suites, and a presidential apartment. Each room features a private entrance, custom contemporary furnishings, and original Baja-centric art.
Transitions from indoor to outdoor spaces are seamless with floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors, private patios, and outdoor marble showers.
Rooftop gardens landscaped by Gabayet 101 Paisaje exclusively feature desert plants endemic to Baja California, as well as accents of granite, marble, quarry stone, and local Huanacaxtle wood.
Sordo Madaleno commissioned Mexican artist César Lopez Negrete to produce over 400 original sculptures, photography, and hand-crafted furnishings to be scattered across the property. In preparation for the project, Negrete voyaged throughout the Baja peninsula to incorporate the region’s rich heritage into his work.
Also on-site at Solaz is an indigenous artifacts gallery, a 900-square-metre spa, three restaurants, and several open plazas.
Late architect Juan Sordo Madaleno, who is regarded as one of Mexico’s most important architects, founded Sordo Madaleno Arquitectos in 1973.
Madaleno’s son Javier Sordo Madaleno Bringas has run the family firm since 1982. Javier Sordo Madaleno de Haro and Fernando Sordo Madaleno de Haro, who make up the family’s third generation of architects, are also principals.
The studio’s most recent projects is a Mexico City apartment complex featuring zig-zagging terraces, a tower in Guadalajara comprising stacked and offset boxes, and a Massimo Dutti store.
Photography by Rafael Gamo
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