Making use of the terrain with a 3-metre elevational difference, creates a geometric sculpture that overlooks the horizon of La Piedad, Mexico. There, the single-family residence called Casa La Piedad majestically emerges. Its white appearance introduces a modernist outlook to the surrounding where short grass and pebbles occupy the landscape.
The architecture is divided into two levels, with the upper floor being the main entrance. Under the setting sun, a budding tree stands to greet its owners. Its presence softens the monolithic walls that wrap around the structure. Their height blocks the sunlight in the afternoon but also provides a spatial effect on the inside, where the social zones congregate.
Entering the house, the kitchen window opens out onto the street. Small pots of plants are put in place to form a living screen. The minimal interior carries the same language as the facades with plain white surfaces. Their neutrality contrasts the local contexts greatly while giving a base to inner furnishes. White marble tiles cover the floor of Casa La Piedad, almost like a homage to the geological characteristics of the region.
The form of the residence is seemingly heavy yet its volume is porous with a clever ventilating system created by the two generous courtyards intersecting with its mass. These two courtyards are located in the basement, piercing through the second floor to harmonise the air currents for a bright living space. In the central courtyard, a ficus pandurata tree extends to the second floor, sprinkling speckles of green to the all-white palette.
Vegetations appear throughout the house like resting stops for busy days. They weave horizontally and vertically, bringing a fragment of nature inside for a calm and serene atmosphere. Branches of leaves twist and turn elegantly, while tropical shrubs add texture. Their sophisticated placements enhance the visuality, swaying along with the sheer white curtains in the spring breeze.
Casa La Piedad is another minimalist residence that takes a cue from the modernist aesthetic. Yet it has a cleverness in the spatial division through the minds of Cotaparedes Arquitectos. The insertion of two generous courtyards not only functionally operates but also refreshes the interior for its dwellers, who may enjoy the cascading rays of morning sun or the chirping of crickets in the evening where the greens are present.