Casa Los Tigres is located in Nuevo Vallarta, a small beach town on the west coast of Mexico. For one half of the year, the climate here is pleasantly warm, negating the use of air conditioning and allowing buildings to stay open to the outdoors. During the other half of the year, when the temperatures are higher but so is the humidity, the landscape transforms as the vegetation flourishes. This climate informed César’s decision to incorporate an even ratio of indoor and outdoor spaces, with some gracefully transitioning between the two realms. Throughout, the garden has been embraced with the wet season in mind.

In addition to responding to the climate, César has also integrated architectural features typical of the region, one being fired-clay roofs and floors. This naturally-textured material is joined by other materials of the same nature, including hand-made bricks and tiles, and stained tropical wood, all of which have been sourced locally. “We don’t seek shiny finishes – instead, we are interested in working with local, organic materials,” César says. 

César approached the ground floor layout as a ‘U’ shape, with an open living-dining-kitchen area to the left, which then flows into a bathroom and bedroom in the right corner and an indoor-outdoor sitting area in the bottom right corner. On the right side, up a flight of stairs, are two additional bedrooms, each with its own balcony. A spacious outdoor entertaining area is in the centre of the ‘U’.

One side of the house, the side that faces the street, is simple and conceals most of what goes on inside, while the other side is made up of a series of rounded columns and windows, allowing more of a connection to the garden. “The rounding of the walls and the cylindrical columns simulate elements washed up by the sea, accentuating the plasticity of the beach house,” César reflects.