The brick is the clear protagonist on the exterior of the building, giving a solid appearance to the ground floor that seems to be related to the colour of the earth. The different spaces on the upper floor emerge as volumes of lighter materiality that rest on the brick mass that forms the ground floor.
Casa Cantellano by Omar Vergara Taller + Renata de Miguel. Photograph by César Belio.
Project description by Omar Vergara Taller + Renata de Miguel
This project became a close and personal dialogue with our clients over 4 years.
Our clients are three elders who used to live in a 70-square-meter apartment in Mexico City and who invested most of their savings in this project.
Alejandra, a retired dentist, likes to cook and take care of her plants. She spends most of her time taking care of her mother, an 89-year-old woman with very limited mobility. Alejandra, as well, has limited mobility, so accessibility was a key aspect of the design and layout of the house.
Casa Cantellano by Omar Vergara Taller + Renata de Miguel. Photograph by César Belio.
Jorge, a retired government official, seems to be immersed in his own world and enjoys conversating and spending time in his great hobby: watching and collecting old movies.
How and when this project arose is irrelevant. The process was enriched by this dialogue that culminated in the linking of the atmospheres that the patios now grant us, the contact with nature, the tranquility of the private and family space and above all, the conviction that this house, more than a building, is a possibility of ageing with dignity.
Cantellano House
The house is located at the southwest of Pachuca City, Hidalgo, within a housing development.
It was built on a flat, orthogonal terrain with two fronts.
The house’s vocation is to be a place for retirement, making mobility and comfort its main design constraints.
The house is totally accessible. The essential spaces, such as the bedrooms, living area and kitchen are located on the ground floor, while the second floor is reserved for recreation space: a small cinema room and a reading studio. The vertical connection is given though an elevating platform, having the stair as an alternative.
Casa Cantellano by Omar Vergara Taller + Renata de Miguel. Photograph by César Belio.
The project seeks, through a sequence of three patios and a double height in the living area, to link the life of the two stories both, in the public and private areas.
Every space has a continuity towards light, vegetation, and the sky.
The volume is divided horizontally in two.- below, we find a solid presence where earth materializes through handcrafted, local brick; above, we find three light and transparent volumes that work as pavilions configuring two open terrace areas.
