Casa RM + Casa GC
DC Arquitecto
General assistant
2017-2019
From 2017 I had the chance to participate as a supporting architect in a local architecture firm in two residential: Casa RM and Casa Gonzalo Curiel. Both projects are located in the city of San Luis Potosí, México. My involvement in the project concerned administrative and interior tasks, as well as coordinating the photographic documentation of the projects.
Both projects are very honest in their material expression. Casa RM is an interesting combination of a lower level of clay bricks and a first floor of aparent concrete with a complex geometry, obtained only through the high quality job of the framework workers. The unfinished, unpolished appearance of the cast concrete, exposed ironwork and the second-hand wood for the framework are just as appealing to me as the finished product. Many times, the aparent concrete represents a logistic problem, but inevitably their strategies are what resolve all issues. The workers that built these intricate structures left no individual trace. Not even in pictures. But as a whole they were able to put together an intricate work of architecture that is, in a way, the only evidence of they ever being there to begin with.
The Gonzalo Curiel house was a considerably different endeavor. On this occasion, the critical approach of the original design was much more related to the regional conditions. The general layout, described in the diagrams shown above and below, was mainly focused on taking the most advantage of the irregular plot. Two pavilions are linked together by a contained hall that opens up completely to the garden. The creative approach lies in the materials applied to the surfaces and volumes of the closed pavillions. The first is covered with pink limestone cylinders, manufactured in an artisanal form by local stoneworkers.
The tradition of the cast pink limestone goes back to the colonial times in San Luis Potosí. The possibilities of the geometrical expression of the limestone are so extensive and were exploited for the religious temples in the old city center, achieving incredibly intricate volumes that are an inherent part of the regional culture. The cylinders absorb thermal energy from the intense sun exposure and liberate it throughout the cold nights. As the sun goes by, the volumes cast very interesting shadows on one another, adding another aesthetic dimension to the project. The second pavilion is cast of pink concrete. Through this tone of color, the whole extension of the project is cohesive and has an intricate connection of its parts.
Later on, we participated with images of this project on the A quién corresponda exhibition coordinated by Inés Benitez and Edgar Rodríguez of the GSD and displayed on the Kirkland Gallery. It was especially relevant for us to portray the critical references in our work, particularly to colonial limestone use and perpetuation of tradition in a contemporary context. Read more about our contribution to the exhibition here.