This project is conceived under the concept of self-sufficiency, being the main intention the gathering of resources from the land, to provide the needed services for the functioning of the home and everyday life of the family. With the help of experts on the field of permaculture, we created gardens and orchards for self-consumption, under their counsel, we placed the architectural project on the center of the land, in a way in which the user gets immediate proximity to the different points of the adapted permaculture system.

Under the same premise, strategies for rainwater recollection and solar power efficiency were made, which dictate the formal proposal of the project. The inverted gable roof design allows us to guide the rainwater through a waterfall, which is guided by canals and water mirrors to fall into a well, to be used for irrigation, filling up the pool and after a filtration system, to the main house. The waterfall becomes the protagonist of the design, making dynamic architecture, which comes to life through different climate states. For an optimal energetic efficiency and gathering of solar radiation, all the other roofs were leaned twenty-two degrees to the south, which is, by the geographical location, the optimal placement to guarantee the maximum production of energy with solar panels.

The materiality of the project takes inspiration from the Mexican and Yucatecan culture, using the ancestral material “chukum”, coming from the barks of regional trees, adding a red coloring, reminiscing of Mexican colonia architecture, to create the distinctive finishes of the project. Under the same line of design, we used details with mosaic pasta tiles, to uphold the local artisanal labor, and a reinterpretation of the classic semi-circular arch was created, using steel and the local technique of “bahareque” wood, making homage to the characteristics of the local haciendas, although respectfully, by using contemporary materials. 

Added to the main house, an annex for visitors was created, in which, being closer to the neighbors and context, seeks to adapt and mimic with local Mayan architecture. Using “guano” and wood roofs, like authentic Mayan houses, and vibrated-compressed concrete block walls, as traditional contemporary architecture. 

Casa Alma Mía gets its name from the initials of each member of the Family, this being a project where prevails the humility, respect and gratitude for the resources provided by the earth.