Sonora
La Cruz, Guanacaste
2021
In the dry, sunlit plains of Guanacaste, Costa Rica, this residence explores the expressive power of simplicity. Anchored by a rhythmic arrangement of walls and crowned with a modest double-pitched roof, the project finds its identity in restraint, craftsmanship, and the poetic interplay between solid and void.
At the heart of the design is a composition of perpendicular walls that define the floor plan like a quiet choreography. These walls do not just divide space—they shape light, frame views, and guide movement. The architectural language is stripped back to its essentials, allowing material and proportion to speak louder than gesture.
The archetypal double-pitched roof recalls the simplicity of vernacular rural forms, grounding the house in local tradition while preserving a sense of timeless modernity. Its silhouette is both humble and deliberate—a quiet echo of the surrounding terrain.
Song: Sonora - Hermanos Gutiérrez
The archetypal double-pitched roof recalls the simplicity of vernacular rural forms.
The archetypal double-pitched roof recalls the simplicity of vernacular rural forms.
Material selection was driven by texture, tactility, and the desire to create surfaces that age with dignity. The exterior walls are finished in chukum, a natural resin-lime plaster from the Yucatán that offers both durability and earthy depth. Inside and out, hand-finished stuccos provide subtle imperfections that bring a human touch to every surface, allowing the play of sun and shadow to animate the architecture throughout the day.
The home responds to Guanacaste’s hot, dry climate through strategic orientation and the thick, insulating quality of its walls. Courtyards and shaded transitions promote cross-ventilation, while deep eaves protect against the intense sun.
This house is an exercise in architectural clarity—where a few lines, well drawn, create a world. It embraces simplicity not as a lack, but as a precision: of material, of form, of purpose. A home made of walls, light, and quiet.