The project was designed for a three-generation family. This consists of the grandparents (who commissioned the project), their three children, and the grandchildren, ranging from newborns to teenagers. The goal was to create a weekend or vacation home for the entire family. Each family group had distinct needs, so all the bedrooms were designed with each member in mind. The public areas are designed for mingling, to accommodate the largest number of users and facilitate togetherness between the different families and members. The concept revolves around translating the diversity of the users ages and relationships into various formal and material interpretations that can interact with each other, resulting in an unexpectedly diverse and coherent architectural language.
Casa Cuatro Soles is a weekend residence located in Rancho Avándaro, south of the network magical towns of Avándaro and Valle de Bravo, an hour and a half west of Mexico City. Rancho Avándaro stands out for being one of the most exclusive residential developments in the area surrounding the dam at Valle de Bravo. It has 120 hectares of private development, surrounded by lakes, rivers and densely populated forests. The house was deliberately oriented to maximize the views of the surrounding landscape, so the height of the roofs and the opening to the south seek to frame the forest. The cold exterior color scheme blends in with the surrounding wooded landscape and gives the illusion of disappearing. The house was designed to comply with the restrictions on coefficients of use and occupancy.
The project features both active and passive sustainable systems. The active systems include solar panels, a rainwater harvesting system, a wastewater reuse treatment plant, and Duovent glass for thermal and acoustic efficiency that makes the house resource self-sufficient. In the passive systems, the large windows and domes maximize natural light to reduce energy consumption. Cross ventilation operates throughout the house to maintain a cool indoor environment. The house was built using traditional processes and locally resourced materials which significantly reduced the carbon footprint. The exterior walls of the two main volumes and the secondary volume are covered with handmade gray brick. All the Oyamel, Oak and Pine wood was certified wood from the area.
The residence is divided into two main volumes organized perpendicularly and a small secondary rectangular volume connected to a corridor that serves as the main entrance and that houses a utility room. The roofs of these main volumes are gabled; they have an Oyamel structure and beams that support the black clay tiles. They were configured to generate pentagonal geometries that break the continuity of the long, horizontal, and rectangular lines of the entry and the vertical lines of the beams. This formal transition can be seen mainly from the rear façade; on the east and west sides, they establish different readings and evoke the atmosphere of a contemporary country house. The architectural style was chosen to establish a dialogue between traditional inspiration, dominated by materials and construction processes, and a contemporary style, shaped by geometry and a formal proposal. The materials chosen for the project's exteriors respond to Rancho Avándaro's strict internal regulations. The selection solved this limitation by using black clay tiles, gray partition walls and black aluminum window and door frames to connect with its immediate context. The cold exterior color scheme blends in with the surrounding wooded landscape and gives the illusion of disappearing. The project was also limited by the internal regulations of the residential complex regarding the coefficients of use and occupancy, so the house was designed to keep this set of rules and prerogatives in mind.
Casa Cuatro Soles is an architectural project that harmoniously integrates the natural environment and the needs of a multigenerational family. The residence offers a peaceful retreat surrounded by wooded landscapes. The design of the house combines traditional and contemporary elements, creating a diverse architectural language that can be appreciated in the different facades. This project achieves a balance between aesthetics, functionality and sustainability, offering the family a cozy place
Chain + Siman is an architecture and interior design firm based in Mexico City and founded in 2016, with previous years of individual experience in Mexico and the United States. It is led by Renatta Chain and Lina Siman.
The idea behind the firm has to do with simplicity: the use of clean lines, natural palettes and a close dialogue between light, space and textures. The concept of each project is based on a systematic organization of the design elements, which reveal their physical characteristics and achieve a balance between luxury, aesthetics and functionality.
They have designed residential, hospitality, retail and corporate projects. In each one of them, the synergy between constant dedication, passion for every design detail, customer service and the search for solutions, make up the pillars of each project. Its execution also meets the cultural, functional and operational needs of each one.