Taller Estilo Arquitectura designed Casa Yucatan Jay, a vacation home in Mérida, Mexico, with a restored Art Deco facade. Planned around a central garden and pool, the home features both pre-existing and new structures, creating functional and aesthetically comfortable spaces. The design balances public and private areas, with interiors prioritizing efficient layout, lighting, and ventilation. Notable features include a preserved mamey tree and a seamless glass element to honor nature.
Crafted by designer Simone Menasse Studio, Villa Margot is a harmonious blend of rustic charm and modern aesthetics, located in Rome, Italy. The house showcases a minimalist design style known for its open spaces, characterized by the juxtaposition of materials and warm decor.
Incorporating expansive windows and a striking timber ceiling, the 2023 renovation highlights natural illumination, creating a tranquil and inviting atmosphere throughout the spaces.
Casa Bendico, designed by Le Penhuel & Associés Architectes, is a villa nestled in the Val di Noto hills of Italy. Completed in 2024, this house draws inspiration from local farms, featuring a heavy, mineral structure coated with cement to blend into its forested surroundings.
A bio-climatic, energy-independent design, the house utilizes a shuttered concrete double shell with red and brown pozzolan from Mount Etna, contributing to its thermal efficiency and integration with the environment.
In 2024, designer Bouman created Casa Boratuna, located in Vall del Llémena, Spain. The house respects Catalan vernacular architecture, resembling traditional masia farmhouses. Positioned on cross terraces, it offers views of the valley. Local stone and wooden gabled roofs connect with regional history, while the compact, square floor plan includes a central living space and corner bedrooms. Highly insulated, the house uses aerothermal energy, aligning with passive house standards for low energy consumption. Casa Boratuna thus balances traditional aesthetics with modern functionality.
Itaúna House, renovated by Siqueira+Azul in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, combines an original Oscar Niemeyer house with a modern expansion. Designed in 2017, this project transforms an urban landscape, adding a garden and leisure annex.
The designers integrated three independent constructions, interconnected with pathways, and enhanced façades with large pivoting panels. The leisure annex incorporates natural materials like stone and concrete. An oculus allows viewing the upper courtyard, blending various elements seamlessly.
The Gardenias House, designed by Mano de Santo in 2023, is a single-family home located in Valencia, Spain. Instead of demolishing an unfinished structure, the designers conducted structural tests to preserve and revitalize it. Skylights flood the home with natural light, and it connects with the surrounding valley views. The project emphasizes minimizing waste, integrating efficient solutions, and ensuring energy self-sufficiency through a photovoltaic system.
The Lotus House, also known as Pedroso I House, is a single-family home in Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal, designed by Raulino Silva in 2022. Nestled on land once part of the Pedroso Monastery, the steep plot maintains its natural vegetation and trees. A large terrace on the upper floor provides views at tree level and serves the main living spaces, while the lower floor features a granite stone facade, a patio, and an indoor pool.
Casa Suna is a beachside vacation home, designed by YDR estudio, located in La Ribera, Mexico. The villa’s local stone walls and beige concrete tones draw on the simple palette of its surroundings, from the ocean to the desert. Organised around a central circular patio, which “invites gathering and contemplation”, the open-plan living spaces enjoy a cohesive connection to the outdoors, thanks to a serene, warm-toned material selection, characterised by wooden accents and elegant travertine marble countertops.
