© Jaime Navarro
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Manifestation of the idea that architecture can connect with the built environment and the natural environment.
CASA JARDIN ESCANDÓN, is located at 19 Agricultura St. in the Escandón neighborhood of Mexico City. The housing development is a mixed-use complex. The Escandón neighborhood had a recent boom in the past years, with a fresh and youthful vibe. Art deco buildings coexist with landmark facades and new contemporary buildings.
The project is developed to live towards the interior of the complex through a central courtyard and a rear patio separated from the back boundary, allowing all residential units to have natural light and cross ventilation. The complex consists of 14 units, with 4 apartment-style units on the ground floor, and 10 three-level townhouse-style units located above.
The volume, covered in galarza stone, embraces the traditional inspirations of the neighborhood. With a gabled facade facing the street, the concrete slabs stand out. In turn, the first level stands out from its alignment to generate balconies, allowing a more direct relationship with the outdoor social spaces of the residential interior. On the other hand, the interior facades towards the central courtyard speak a different language, where a game of diverse windows, openings, and gabled roofs are generated to create a simple, dynamic, fun, and ingenious form of the complex.
The central courtyard of the project houses a variety of native plants and species that are conducive to the local climate, negating the need for extensive maintenance in the future. The courtyard area is designed for contemplation and reflection, where access from the residential complex begins a gradual transition towards an interior patio that serves as a central disconnection from the hustle and bustle of life outside of the complex.
The space invites reflection and contemplation, inspired by the central garden and its various species of plants and flowers. This interior garden is the most important element of the design proposal, and the architects focused on developing a truly magical space where architecture meets permanence and contemplation.
By carefully taking the distance, orientation, and arrangement of the balconies facing the central courtyard into consideration, the result delivers a discreet, private, and peaceful interaction between residents and their shared “secret garden”. The process was replicated for the rooftop gardens, all featuring native sun vegetation, a variety of plants, and foliage arranged to provide residences with both privacy and openness, with skyward views.
Main access to the complex was designed as a cave, with a gabled ceiling that gives the perception of having been carved out of the stone volume. The opening serves as a transitional space between the street and the interior of the complex, where visitors are received with views framed by light, the landscape, and a carved stone entrance that whisk them away from the cityscape behind them.
The project is a physical manifestation of the idea that architecture can connect with both the built environment and the natural environment, generating great benefits towards offering a more complete and harmonious life experience.