Mexican architectural firm Productora has unveiled their latest design, the stunning Casa Oliva, a unique home set to be raffled as part of the Tecnológico de Monterrey’s annual fundraiser. This 500-square meter (5,380-square-foot) residence in Nuevo León is the sixteenth Author’s House and the grand prize in the 127th Traditional SorteoTEC Raffle, following in the footsteps of the 2022 Casa Elemental by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Alejandro Aravena.
The modern home, situated on a 598-square meter (6,436-square-foot) triangular plot in Santa Catarina, boasts a distinctive two-tone exterior that blends seamlessly with the mountainous surroundings. Productora describes Casa Oliva as a study in spatiality and simplicity, emphasizing reduction, honesty, and clarity in its design.
“We understand Casa Oliva as an essay in spatiality and simplicity – an exercise in reduction, honesty, and clarity,” said the design team at Productora.
The ground floor, home to the public spaces of the residence, is covered in sleek grey-toned aluminum sheeting and expansive glass panels. The house is designed to prioritize privacy on the street side, while the rear opens up to the garden through floor-to-ceiling glass windows and sliding doors, providing a seamless connection with nature.
The team’s challenge was to minimize material usage and express the idea of two overlapping volumes clearly.
“One of the challenges was to minimize the amount of materials to be used in the house and to clearly express the idea of these two overlapping volumes,” the team remarked.
Above, the upper floor, which contains the private areas such as the bedrooms, lounge, and office, is covered in locally manufactured sage-green concrete tiles. These tiles continue over the facade and form a small overhanging soffit, creating a strong visual line dividing the two levels of the house. The sawtooth roof, inspired by the jagged mountain profile, gives the home its unique silhouette while providing sloped ceilings on the interior. Small square windows dot the upper facade, offering protection from the harsh climate.
The design of Casa Oliva responds to the site’s sloping topography with a staggered ground floor layout, which results in stepped platforms that move toward the rear of the house. This design leads to a central double-height living room that connects both levels and promotes cross-ventilation throughout the space.
“It is here that three-dimensional spatial relations and diagonal visuals are established in all directions and that the central staircase is located,” explained the Productora team.
Inside, the living area features rounded columns clad in dark green ceramic tile, forming a diagonal path from the studio, through seating areas, and out to the back patio. The team expressed their love for a reduced palette of warm, tactile materials, which were chosen to make the home adaptable for various living arrangements.
“What makes the project unique is the warm wooden environment that follows the topography of the site, through small level changes: it creates a very rich, layered and complex space that is simultaneously very calm and soothing as well,” the team added.
To ensure energy efficiency, Casa Oliva incorporates a Novidesa slab system with expanded polystyrene for thermal control, as well as a double-layered, insulated wall system. The home is designed to allow for compartmentalized mechanical cooling, reducing overall energy consumption.
In addition to Casa Oliva, Productora has recently showcased their design expertise in other green projects, including the transformation of a Mexico City textile factory into artist studios and a collaboration with Esrawe Studio to design a hotel in San Miguel de Allende. The use of green accents, particularly green tiles, continues to define their architectural style.
