As the days inch colder and shorter towards the end of the year, people and birds alike begin to flock south for a winter escape. With few exceptions, the average resort vacation offers little in the way of inspiration for design lovers. But as the demand for authentic, experience-driven (and, let’s face it, Instagrammable) travel grows, platforms like Mexico’s CasitaMX are offering access to more architecturally-driven vacation rentals — and spurring . With its new guesthouse in the coastal town of Todos Santos, a hotbed for artists and creatives, Danish design brand is the latest to embrace the trend.
Designed by Mexico City firm , Vipp Todos Santos first and foremost embraces the desert landscape of its locale on the Baja California peninsula, just an hour up the coast from the resort town of Cabo San Lucas. “Todos Santos has a very unique blend of topographies, history and influences,” says Pablo Pérez Palacios. “We wanted to respect these traditions while creating our own architectural language and a building that merges seamlessly with the surrounding landscape.”
Conceived as a “dynamic interplay of strategically placed volumes,” connected by stepped exterior stairways, the design responds to the site topography and sets up the ideal conditions for indoor-outdoor living.
Vipp Todos Santos’ rammed earth construction leverages natural materials from the site. Not only is this a sustainable choice but its thermal properties also allow for natural cooling during the day and insulation at night. At times, the walls extend to soften incoming light and frame precise, picturesque views of the landscape. Left in their raw state, the sand-coloured walls blend seamlessly into the desert backdrop, furthering the connection to nature.
The 350-square-metre home consists of five bedrooms which sleep up to 10 people, spread across the main house and two connected guesthouses, plus a covered patio, a rooftop pool and terraces. The outdoor spaces offer an ideal place to take in the locale, serving as the social hub of the home year-round, day and night, with a central fireplace that is both a source of warmth and a design feature in its own right. The circular rooftop pool, meanwhile, mirrors the expansive sky above to create a contemplative oasis.
While PPAA took the lead on the structure, the interiors were a collaborative effort with Vipp’s third generation, US-based co-owner Sofie Christensen Egelund and Copenhagen-based interior designer Julie Cloos Mølsgaard, who has worked on many of Vipp’s other properties. Here, natural tones and textures foster a sense of tranquility, keeping the focus on the architecture.
The minimal palette of earth, concrete and wood fosters a sense of quiet luxury (which is apt given that rates begin at $2,500 USD per night). It is complemented with custom furnishings and design details that honour local craft and weaving techniques — like the handcrafted shutters, woven from branches of the local Palo de Arco tree, which cast dramatic shadows throughout the space — art, textiles and ceramics.
Throughout, the designers play with the contrast between Mexican and Danish design. Vipp’s sleek anodized aluminum V3 kitchen, for instance, holds court at the heart of the open-plan living space.
The brand’s furniture, lighting, bathroom and outdoor collections are placed throughout, including a limited-edition launch in celebration of the property’s opening — a special Swivel Chair upholstered in a vivid jacquard fabric from Pierre Frey that evokes the spirit of Mexico. The colourful bayadère stripes lend the chair a graphic quality and rich texture, balanced by the industrial aluminum frame. With a thoughtful fusion of culture and design, Vipp Todos Santos marks a standout addition to .
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