Casa Martha as a Social Response to a Houses in Mexico

Naso was invited by PienZa Sostenible to participate in reconstructing 1 of 50 houses at risk due to damage. Following the September 2017 earthquake, the project is a collaboration of architecture and design offices from both local and international. Casa Martha, located at Mexico's most important pilgrimage site, is for families consisting of elderly parents with two adult children with parents who have difficulty walking.Perspective view Casa Martha, Photo by Maureen M. Evans

This led Naso to design this house based on the first three ideas, to produce an accessible, clear, and open space that ensures parental independence; second, to promote coexistence between parents and children and their privacy; and lastly, to include spaces that can open up possibilities and potentially facilitate additional income opportunities for families.

Perspective view entrance Casa Martha, Photo by Maureen M. Evans

The original site on top of this hill had its challenges for Naso. With the uneven topography, Naso chose to build a new house on the same surface as the previous one by adjusting the rectangular ground plan site to meet the accessibility needs of parents. For that reason, the spatial arrangement of this house also pays attention to detail where on the ground floor it is intended for the kitchen, dining room, and bathroom, and two bedrooms are intended for the parents' bedrooms. In one child's bedroom, in addition, the master bedroom door is deliberately aligned with the bathroom door allowing direct access without obstacles. The main access of the house is chosen using sliding doors. This allows to get a larger space, with easy accessibility and a natural circulation for lighting and air.

Ground floor plan, Source by Naso

Front view entrance Casa Martha, Photo by Maureen M. Evans

Naso placed one room on the second floor, with staircase access in the outside area of the house, allowing this room to have different activities and privacy from the core of the house on the ground floor but will still be connected because of the stairs on the terrace. This third independent space allows for rent and supplements income for the family with a rooftop terrace facility that provides views of nature on the hill.

Second floor plan, Source by Naso

Stairs view Casa Martha, Photo by Maureen M. Evans

Naso also thought about the continuity of maintenance of this house which is made with as little maintenance as possible, using contextual concepts in terms of the shape of the building mass in the form of concrete domes commonly used in the area and materials dominated by local materials, such as concrete and compacted earth blocks -Ecoblocks- produced on-site by exposing these materials as finishing.

Material details Casa Martha, Photo by Maureen M. Evans

Interior details Casa Martha, Photo by Maureen M. Evans