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A Los Cabos Home Raises the Roof(s)

ByMyProperty Life

In sunny Los Cabos, shade is a much-needed amenity. So, when designing Casa en Palmilla in the Mexican city, the firm ESTUDIO Ignacio Urquiza Ana Paula de Alba crafted an architectural form that integrates shade into the very DNA of the home.

A person walks through a modern courtyard with gravel, rocks, and desert plants, surrounded by buildings with tiled roofs at sunset.

A gravel courtyard with desert plants and leafless trees is surrounded by beige, flat-roofed buildings under a clear sky at sunset.

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A single-story house with a tiled roof and wooden walls is surrounded by gravel, dry vegetation, and a leafless tree under a clear sky.

To wit: the pair of lightweight, L-shaped roofs give that this project its extraordinary character. With almost seven-foot-deep overhangs, they cast generous shadows on the walls and around the 6,450-square-foot home’s perimeter that provide respite from the sun. Beneath this clay-tiled canopy, Casa en Palmilla’s four dwelling volumes are configured in such a non-orthogonal way that the courtyard at their center is trapezoidal and they all benefit from cross ventilation.

A modern covered patio lounge with light wood and neutral-toned furniture, featuring a sectional sofa, chairs, ottomans, a woven side table, and minimalist décor. Modern open-plan kitchen and dining area with wood cabinetry and furniture, large windows, and views of trees and hills in the background.

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This gravel garden — with its view of the mountains beyond — is contoured around the home’s main spaces, providing privacy while filtering in sunlight. But only the main social area opens onto completely the outdoor haven.

Modern open-plan living and dining area with wooden ceiling, long table with chairs, neutral furnishings, large windows, and a colorful painting on the wall.

Modern living and dining area with light wood beams, neutral-toned sofas, a large concrete fireplace, and a wooden dining table, all featuring minimalist design elements.

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Each of the home’s four volumes has its distinct program. The first is the “service” volume, with its parking, storage, mechanical and laundry spaces. Sharing the same roof is the guest bedroom volume. “Within it,” the architects explain, “a freestanding wooden element — detached from the roof plane — defines the guest bathroom and dressing area, reinforcing a sense of continuity and spatial openness.”

A modern living room with a wooden ceiling, large maroon sectional sofa, coffee table with books, wall-mounted TV, and sheer curtains letting in natural light.

A minimalist bedroom with two beds, striped pillows, wooden walls and ceiling, and a door opening to an outdoor area.

Beneath the second L-shaped roof, the third volume houses the main bedroom and its walk-in closets and study area. And the adjacent fourth volume, featuring a living room, dining area and open kitchen, constitutes the central social area that continues onto the courtyard. By opening its 40-foot-long glazed doors on both longitudinal facades, the occupants transform the space into a covered terrace that’s connected on one side to the central courtyard and on the opposite to a swimming pool with a view of the Sea of San José.

A modern dining area with wooden ceiling, large stone fireplace, wooden table and chairs, and floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking an outdoor landscape.

Modern house with an infinity pool and lounge chairs on a spacious patio; two people stand near a railing overlooking a dry, hilly landscape under a clear sky.

Inside, the planes of the L-shaped roofs overlap to dramatic effect, the laminated oak ceiling beams conjuring a bold interior geometry complemented by a soothing neutral palette. All the furnishings were designed by Alejandra Usobiaga, who created major moments with the kitchen millwork and a sculptural concrete fireplace tower that delineates the dining and living areas. It doesn’t get more serene than this.

To see this and other works by the firm, visit estudioiuapda.com.

Photography by Ana Paula Álvarez.

Elizabeth Pagliacolo is the Editor of Azure magazine and Executive Editor of Design Milk. Based in Toronto, she covers design at every scale, from the spoon to the city. Some of her favourite things, in no particular order, are Mulholland Drive (the movie and the place), burnt Basque cheesecake (preferably from Toronto’s Bar Raval), true crime podcasts (indiscriminately) and the sound of boots crunching down on fall leaves.

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