Project Statement
Built since 1985 as a weekend house, Casa
Malinalco is one of the designer’s first and still
one of his most convincing mediations between architecture,
topography, climate, and cultural history. Malinalco
is a village of small houses and narrow streets in a
subtropical valley 110 kilometers southwest of Mexico
City. Still largely agricultural, it is divided into
eight barrios each with a small colonial church dating
from the 16th or 17th centuries.
The L-shaped house was built on the gently-sloping,
1,100-square-meter site of an old orchard. The living
room, dining room, and kitchen are aligned along one
axis, with the bedrooms along the other, creating something
akin to a traditional cloistered courtyard. Taking advantage
of the moderate climate and establishing strong links
with the landscape, the common rooms are designed as
a covered terrace entirely open to the courtyard on
one side. On the other, shuttered windows overlook a
second garden. Each bedroom also has its own private
patio in the back; still more outdoor space is available
on the flat roof.
Heavily planted along its perimeters,
the courtyard is paved at its center with long, narrow
cobblestones that create a geometric pattern. This patio
is crossed by a small rill connecting a stone basin
with a square reflecting pool adjacent to the living
room. A bold pink wall faces one side of the garden;
the color was selected by Luis Barragan, who felt it
was necesary to set off the muted colors of the landscape.
Below the house are the overgrown but still productive
remnants of the orchard, including coffee, banana, mango,
and citrus trees. Farther down the slope are surviving
agricultural buildings and a new guest cabana.
In a climate that includes rainy and dry
seasons, the landscape is designed to minimize both
runoff and irrigation. Cobbled pavers allow percolation
of storm water; runoff passes through the orchard to
an absorption well near the cabana. Grey water from
the house is recycled into the orchard through a sand
filter.
With its simple lines, spare detailing,
and Barragan colors, but with a plan suggestive of Spanish
or Moorish cloister gardens, Malinalco House is an eloquent
combination of modern and traditional design, at once
urbane and respectful of its village setting.
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