Cumbres House

For the Cumbres House in Mexico City, ASP Arquitectura Sergio Portillo used the removed soil to produce compressed earth blocks, thus creating a rooted sense of belonging.

The project by ASP Arquitectura Sergio Portillo is located in a housing development in Mexico City. Due to a reduced separation between the houses, which affects the views and how the orientations are leveraged, a large patio was created. It generates a dialogue between indoor and outdoor spaces, allowing light to enter while providing the structure with visual and thermostatic self-sufficiency.

Img.1 ASP Arquitectura Sergio Portillo, Cumbres House, Mexico City, 2017

Img.2 ASP Arquitectura Sergio Portillo, Cumbres House, Mexico City, 2017

Img.3 ASP Arquitectura Sergio Portillo, Cumbres House, Mexico City, 2017

Img.4 ASP Arquitectura Sergio Portillo, Cumbres House, Mexico City, 2017

Img.5 ASP Arquitectura Sergio Portillo, Cumbres House, Mexico City, 2017

Img.6 ASP Arquitectura Sergio Portillo, Cumbres House, Mexico City, 2017

Img.7 ASP Arquitectura Sergio Portillo, Cumbres House, Mexico City, 2017

Basement Floor arquine

ASP Arquitectura Sergio Portillo, Cumbres House, basement plan

Ground Floor arquine

ASP Arquitectura Sergio Portillo, Cumbres House, ground floor

1st floor arquine

ASP Arquitectura Sergio Portillo, Cumbres House, first floor

section 01 arquine

ASP Arquitectura Sergio Portillo, Cumbres House, section

Section 02 arquine

ASP Arquitectura Sergio Portillo, Cumbres House, section

The shape of the footprint and the regulated limits led Portillo to a solution involving soil excavation and removal. Mexican architect used it to produce compressed earth blocks, providing a real solution that reduce the environmental footprint, and create a rooted sense of belonging in which the color scheme is defined by the site itself, and not by the architect.

Img.8 ASP Arquitectura Sergio Portillo, Cumbres House, Mexico City, 2017

From the exterior, the project appears to be a grouping of extruded blocks that allude to the impenetrability and the massiveness of the material, while the interior highlights the openness and lightness of these elements in an open floor plan. Throughout the project, the earth functions as the project’s unifying element.

Img.9 ASP Arquitectura Sergio Portillo, Cumbres House, Mexico City, 2017

Cumbres House, Mexico City
Program: single family house
Architect: ASP Arquitectura Sergio Portillo – Sergio Portillo Alarcón
Collaborators: Rafael Ovalle, Francisco Machuca
Landscape: David Villanueva
Installation: Grupo R
Contractor: Lineal Construcción y Desarrollo Arquitectónico
Area: 517 sqm
Completion: 2016