Between privacy and transparency. CAFM House by RZERO

09/05/2018. [Cumbres de Santa Fe, CDMX] Mexico
metalocus, VANESA DEL OLMO, INÉS OÑATE

A place that invites to a state of peace and tranquility where the experiences of the inhabitants materialized when designing this house.

View from street. CAFM House by RZERO. Photograph by Moritz Bernoully

View from street. CAFM House by RZERO. Photograph by Moritz Bernoully

Entrance. CAFM House by RZERO. Photograph by Moritz Bernoully

CAFM House by RZERO. Photograph by Moritz Bernoully

Interior view (axis). CAFM House by RZERO. Photograph by Moritz Bernoully

Interior view. CAFM House by RZERO. Photograph by Moritz Bernoully

Central patio-garden. CAFM House by RZERO. Photograph by Moritz Bernoully

Exterior view. CAFM House by RZERO. Photograph by Moritz Bernoully

Entrance. CAFM House by RZERO. Photograph by Moritz Bernoully

Exterior view. CAFM House by RZERO. Photograph by Moritz Bernoully

Courtyard night view. CAFM House by RZERO. Photograph by Moritz Bernoully

Night view. CAFM House by RZERO. Photograph by Moritz Bernoully

Ground floor plan. CAFM House by RZERO

Floor 1. CAFM House by RZERO

Floor 2. CAFM House by RZERO

Floor 3. CAFM House by RZERO

Section. CAFM House by RZERO

Model. CAFM House by RZERO

Located at the Cumbres de Santa Fe in Mexico City, the Casa CAFM project designed by R-ZERO shows how the notion of intimacy is symptomatic of modernity. Nothing is more sacred in our contemporary societies than the right to privacy. Although in contemporary urbanisations, access to privacy is increasingly difficult, whether due to space issues or overexposure to public areas.

Description of project by R-ZERO

The project is located in an urban residential complex, where there are houses and buildings divided only by a street and where the different neighbors are sold without any restraint; it seeks to be a pause in a context of great visual noise.

The couple living in the house share a deep affinity for sensory experiences and possess a vast spatial memory of vivid memories of their multiple journeys. It was this sensory richness that inspired us to make a project that recreates the connection we have with the spaces that are nourished by our personal experiences: the cities we have visited, the colors and shapes that have marked us, the auditory, olfactory and visuals that we treasure. We wanted to materialize in this house the vision of the inhabitants and their relationship with the places that are part of their identity.

The proposal is developed in four solid volumes that possess a stony materiality that contrasts with nature. The central patio-garden -as an abstract piece- is the axis that connects the different spaces. The facade shows a crack that accentuates the division between two of the volumes, creating the sensation that, when crossing through it, one passes from the public to the private sphere, from the exterior to the interior, from the noise to the silence; making said access a threshold towards a personal, transparent and profound space.

Finally, our intention is to search for uniqueness: each space generates a unique connection with the outside world.