Architecture

Buried Avocado House disappears into beautiful Mexican landscape

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The Avocado House is located in the rural area of Valle del Bravo, around two hours drive from Mexico City
Sandra Pereznieto
The Avocado House is located in the rural area of Valle del Bravo, around two hours drive from Mexico City
Sandra Pereznieto
The Avocado House takes its place so well among the landscape that it would be easy to miss at a glance
Sandra Pereznieto
The Avocado House measures 246 sq m (roughly 2,650 sq ft)
Sandra Pereznieto
The Avocado House features a terrace area that includes a hot tub
Sandra Pereznieto
The Avocado House is well insulated by the soil and grass that surrounds it and maintains a relatively steady temperature, year-round
Sandra Pereznieto
The Avocado House is primarily made from concrete, as well as wood that was recycled from the construction process
Sandra Pereznieto
The Avocado House was commissioned by a young couple with a child who are keen hang gliders and wanted it to look good from above too
Sandra Pereznieto
The Avocado House's interior decor is a mix of rough concrete, wood, stucco, and glass
Diego Padilla
The Avocado House's interior layout is open and receives lots of daylight thanks to its generous glazing, which includes skylights
Diego Padilla
The Avocado House's glass doors open up the home to the outside
Diego Padilla
The Avocado House includes a master bedroom, children's bedroom, guest rooms, and an office
Diego Padilla
View gallery - 11 images

Commissioned to design a vacation home in an avocado field while leaving the field itself as intact as possible, Francisco Pardo Arquitecto decided on the radical approach of burying the home. The result is the Avocado House, which blends into the beautiful Mexican landscape so well that at a glance it's barely visible.

Bringing to mind Greece's similar NCaved, Avocado House (aka Casa Aguacates) is located in Valle del Bravo, which is a rural area around two hours drive from Mexico City. It serves as a weekend retreat to a young family who happen to be keen hang gliders. Because of this passion, they were concerned that the home look good from above. Francisco Pardo Arquitecto buried the home's concrete shell in a choice spot on a hill in the field and covered it over with soil and grass. According to the firm, one key benefit of all that soil and greenery is that it acts as an insulator and helps it maintain a relatively steady temperature, year-round.

"The whole concept revolves around the intention to preserve the natural elements and generate minimum impact on the surroundings," explains the firm. "As a result, avocado trees sprout above the concealed and unassuming structure, which overlooks the treetops of the forest. As keen hang gliders, the couple had a special interest in what they deemed the 'fifth facade' — the view from the sky, which is designed as meticulously as its counterparts, to help the house naturally blend into the context. This solution also provides optimal internal thermal conditions, in an area affected by considerable temperature variation between night and day, thanks to the earth above the roof that keeps the house at a constantly mild temperature."

The Avocado House's interior decor is a mix of rough concrete, wood, stucco, and glass
Diego Padilla

The Avocado House's interior measures 246 sq m (roughly 2,650 sq ft) and features an open layout with a kitchen, dining room, and living room. Elsewhere are a master bedroom, children's bedroom, guest rooms, plus a home studio.

Generous glazing, including skylights, ensures it's filled with natural light and glass doors open onto a terrace area with a hot tub offering views of a nearby forest. The decor is a mixture of rough concrete, stucco, and recycled wood from the construction process, with some black detailing, like a large metal fireplace, enlivening the space.

As well as being used in the main house, some of the leftover wood taken from the construction process was also used to create a small raised cabin nearby that serves as a storage room and lookout point.

Source: Francisco Pardo Arquitecto

View gallery - 11 images
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5 comments
G.F. Brown
Cool place but nothing special, just a new recycling of an old idea.
T N Args
Music playback would sound horrendous in such a hard-surfaced interior. Hopefully no-one with the slightest love of recorded music lives there.
vince
Building a raised cabin ruined it. They should have buried that too
Bob809
Great idea, but the execution of it is a bit off, for me at least. Some people like to live in a place that has no soul in it. No colour to speak of, it looks so stark it might as well be a large prison cell. Where is the 'mark' most of us like to make on our homes? How do you pin up your little kids art work? Why not apply some colour to the place? I have seen much better designs, interiors particulalrly. Shame really.
ljaques
I couldn't bear to spend even one night in that fiasco. The acoustics are painful, as is anyone slipping and falling on solid concrete or thick stone tiles. The visuals: stained gray crete walls/table/ceilings, stained gray-black tiles, unfinished wood (quick to stain & discolor).