The architectural studio Taller Tequio is planning a house in the municipality of Zapopan, in the western part of the metropolitan area of ​​Guadalajara in the state of Jalisco, located on the borders of the Bosque de la Primavera Natural Protected Area, one of the largest natural spaces that currently exist around the city.

The house aims to form part of the natural forest conservation system. Thanks to the steep topography of the land and the abundant vegetation of oaks that surround the house, it becomes a place of great potential, forming part of the natural forest system and helping to preserve it.

The house by Taller Tequio is generated around a central courtyard, influenced by Mexican architecture and allowing for a direct connection between the exterior and interior spaces. The house is composed of four interconnected volumes that are distributed around the courtyard, with more public spaces that are closer to the street and connect directly to the courtyard, and rooms distributed on two levels due to the topography of the land, relating more to the landscape.

The house structure is composed of concrete retaining walls in the basement, and brick masonry walls covered by a traditional system of lime plastering that provides a warm ochre tone to the entire house that contrasts with the interior partitions composed of a metal structure and with interior finishes of various materials depending on their use, such as polished concrete floors for more public spaces and wood finishes for spaces.

Caribu House by Taller Tequio. Photograph by Cesar Bejar Studio.

Caribu House by Taller Tequio. Photograph by Cesar Bejar Studio.

Project description by Taller Tequio

Casa Caribu is located west of the metropolitan area of ​​the city of Guadalajara Jalisco, in the municipality of Zapopan. In this area of ​​the city, there is the Protected Natural Area of ​​the Bosque de la Primavera, which is one of the largest natural spaces that currently exist around the city. Fortunately, the subdivision where Casa Caribu is located is located on the limits of this area; where the pine and oak forest is predominant due to the altitude of the area and Caribu becomes part of this natural forest conservation system.

Due to the topographic characteristics of the land, being in a wooded environment and its great height, the land has a moderately pronounced topography and abundant oak vegetation that is part of the natural system of the Bosque de la Primavera. These two characteristics give the place great potential and character for conservation.

Program
The distribution of the architecture is based on the location and conservation of the existing trees, where more than 80% of these trees were preserved. Taking into account the location of the vegetation masses and the existing topography, the configuration of the house is generated around the creation of a central patio, influenced by Mexican architecture used since pre-Columbian times, predominant in the colonial architecture of the 19th and 20th centuries and contemporary Guadalajara.

Caribu House by Taller Tequio. Photograph by Cesar Bejar Studio.
Caribu House by Taller Tequio. Photograph by Cesar Bejar Studio.

The exterior facade remains simple facing the street and aims to be silent in the environment. Inside, the configuration of the house consists of and is generated around the patio and the existing levels for its layout; this allows the interior spaces to be related to the natural exterior spaces of the land. The general volumetric layout is intended to be distributed around the patio by means of 4 volumes connected to each other. The exterior day spaces are close to the street; The hall, the kitchen and the dining room, these spaces receive the patio and connect with each other, after the dining room there are double-height stairs to connect with the study on a lower level, surrounded by a window that looks out onto a side patio contained by vegetation and oaks.

Connecting with the hall are sequentially the most intimate and nocturnal spaces; the living room, the family room and the bedrooms. Due to the topography, the rooms are distributed on two levels, on the lower level is the main room and its services that connect with an outdoor terrace surrounded by oaks and vegetation. On the upper level, through the open circulations around the patio, there are two rooms and the service area. On a third level is the most open part of the house, a terrace that observes the topography of the place and connects with the protected natural area of ​​the spring forest.

Materiality - Structure
The materiality and structure of Caribu is composed of the three basic systems of a house, a foundation, load-bearing walls and a protective roof. The foundation of the entire house is formed from a concrete structure to form retaining walls that later support the brick masonry walls covered by a traditional system of lime plastering giving an ochre tone to the entire house. To complement the interior spaces, a secondary metal structure is built from metal beams that form part of the mixed structural system of the house. The floors are composed of two groups, in the public spaces polished concrete floors are used and in the more intimate spaces there are wooden floors. On the upper part, we find a traditional light clay tile roof, supported by a frame and wooden beams. On the mezzanine floors of the bedrooms and the study, exposed concrete slabs were used. For the interiors, a handcrafted wood carpentry work was carried out along with specific designs for each piece of furniture in kitchens, bedrooms and furniture.

Caribu House by Taller Tequio. Photograph by Cesar Bejar Studio.
Caribu House by Taller Tequio. Photograph by Cesar Bejar Studio.

Construction Process
The construction process took place over a year. As it is a two-story house, traditional construction systems were used, a concrete foundation that included foundation and structural retaining walls. After the foundation, there is a structure composed of masonry walls and a secondary metal structure that has a double function; in addition to being structural, it is part of the frame system that covers the house in the central courtyard. The entire structure, together with the masonry walls, support the light roof of clay tiles as a final covering, supported by a frame and wooden beams joined by a light compression layer of concrete. In the floors between the different spaces, a rigid frame system with exposed concrete slabs was used. In the finishing part, a traditional system of lime plastering with an ochre tone is used for the walls, which give the general appearance to the house. This, together with the exposed concrete walls, is part of the wall finishing system. On the other hand, concrete floors are used for the common areas, while wooden floors are used in the private areas and bedrooms.

Sustainability
Casa Caribú is developed around 4 themes: sustainability, existing vegetation, materiality, the water system and the use of traditional natural construction systems. Due to the geographical and natural condition of the land, it is considered that the land is part of the natural system of the pine and oak forest of the spring forest in Jalisco. 

We tried to preserve the largest number of existing trees and try to preserve the natural conditions of the land to a greater extent, incorporating new shrub and herbaceous vegetation native to the area, carefully selected to preserve and attract pollinating fauna, allowing the natural reproduction of the vegetation, contributing to the conservation system of mountain ecosystems and promoting the biological biodiversity of the environment. The use of materials used in this house, mostly try to be natural materials and to be used in traditional construction processes that generate a lower amount of polluting indexes. The use of natural materials such as clay for the masonry walls and the tile roof are the main predominant materials of the house. These walls are covered with a system of biodegradable natural lime plasters that contributes naturally to the thermal efficiency of the house in a natural way, with great durability that requires less energy in the manufacturing process. On the other hand, the water system and the conformation of the house contribute to the recharging of the subsoil in a natural way through the use of inclined roofs and the conservation of the soil of the gardens in a natural way, giving permeability to the soil contributing to the natural process of water. In addition, the house partially captures rainwater to a secondary cistern for treatment and reuse in the sanitary fixtures, including the irrigation of the incorporated and existing vegetation.

Caribu House by Taller Tequio. Photograph by Cesar Bejar Studio.
Caribu House by Taller Tequio. Photograph by Cesar Bejar Studio.

Vegetation
Due to the natural and geographical conditions of the site, being a natural pine and oak forest, an attempt was made to preserve this natural environment by protecting and conserving more than 80% of the existing oak trees. The plant palette has as its main intention the conservation of natural biodiversity through the native shrub and herbaceous vegetation of the forest that contribute to the process of pollination and reproduction of the existing vegetation. Throughout the garden, different environments are created through the creation of stone containment walls and natural floors that contain the different gardens, the studio garden that contains more shrub species, the central patio with pollinating species, the patio of the pool with stone containment walls and vegetation to generate a more intimate space and the general garden that surrounds the terrace of the master bedroom that tries to preserve a more natural environment surrounded by oak trees from the forest.

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Architects
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Collaborators
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Adolfo Pesado. Eduardo Pesado, Octavio Vazquez.
Landscape design.- Sofia Castro.
Structural engineering.- SAI Group. Gerson Huerta.

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Area
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310 sqm.

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Dates
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April 15, 2022 - January 15, 2024.

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Localización
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Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico.

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Photography
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Taller Tequio is an architectural studio based in Mexico, founded by Eduardo Pesado and Adolfo Pesado Santiago.

Eduardo Pesado (Mexico City, 1992) is an architect from the Faculty of Architecture of the National Autonomous University of Mexico. During his studies, he did a one-year stay at the École Nationale Supérieure d’ Architecture in Paris-belleville, France.

He has collaborated with the studios Taller Capital, Nicolas Vazquez and Estudio MMX currently in Mexico City, where he is responsible for multiple projects of different types and scales. Since 2015 he has developed his own architectural studio, individually and collectively. He is part of Colectivo 9a and Taller Tequio together with Adolfo Pesado, working in the areas of design, research and dissemination of architecture.

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Published on: November 14, 2024
Cite: "Conserving and enhancing the forest environment. Caribu House by Taller Tequio" METALOCUS. Accessed
<https://www.metalocus.es/en/news/conserving-and-enhancing-forest-environment-caribu-house-taller-tequio> ISSN 1139-6415
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