Projects

DESIGN DESCRIPTION
Small geothermal bungalow

YouTube Animation

A couple with their two children needs a “minimal cabin” where they can spend the night in Jilotepec’s extensive garden. The small cast-concrete structure opens like a drawer to the south, offering a view of the nearby mountains.

It is a box that has decomposed, as if it were a sculpture in mud, showing its sides with a dark, heat-attracting pigmentation. The living area is 1.5 meters above ground level, ensuring a clearer view of the horizon. It creates a storage area where collected wood is deposited during the day. A small translucent cube forms the bathroom, contrasting with the massive pigmented concrete. Two rooms, a living/dining room/kitchen, and a warehouse to the north make up the needs program.

The geothermal temperature regulation system that descends 25m, which calculates 62% of the electrical savings, is mainly responsible for this. The water is circulated, and once its temperature is balanced, it passes through the reinforced concrete plate that provides the small structure with a foundation, reducing the need for heaters or coolers to handle the place’s extreme temperatures.

Visually, this is an exercise in which you experiment with showing the plans that make up a volume and deliver an elegant, functional design to the client.

References:
DETAIL Magazine
Yanko Design 

Credits:
Architect Designer: Paul Cremoux W.
Client: Private
Place: Jilotepec, State of Mexico
Area: 55m² / 592sq. Ft.