{"id":24888,"date":"2014-07-19T19:01:57","date_gmt":"2014-07-19T17:01:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.area-arch.it\/casa-negra-2\/"},"modified":"2016-03-11T19:19:15","modified_gmt":"2016-03-11T18:19:15","slug":"casa-negra","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.area-arch.it\/en\/casa-negra\/","title":{"rendered":"Casa Negra"},"content":{"rendered":"

During the late 90\u00b4s the growth of suburbial areas of Mexico City was restricted as a part of Bando 2 program, which intended to slow down the spreading of the city in areas which had no infraestructure to support the expansion while promoting the re-densification of the central area of the city with under-used infraestructure. This represented a big break for many developers. Some architecture offices saw a clear opportunity to address an increasingly growing niche market that hadn\u2019t been addressed before. Young prepared adults with mobility, which had grown in the suburbs longed for a cosmopolitan, urban life: walking distances, mixed use, accessibility. For a sector of the population the dream home changed from the house in the suburbs you would have seen on the american post-war movies, to the loft that appeared on the television series. Areas such as Colonia Condesa or Colonia Roma were transformed into the new hip residential areas.\u00a0 The once idealized suburbs started to decline, and the recreational outskirts were no longer as coveted as before. As a small young office, we found that this new emptying spaces in the suburbs could represent a big opportunity, instead of trying to compete with the larger offices for a space in the central city. This home-studio sits on a sloped field on the outskirts of the city, near the old road to Cuernavaca, a popular weekend and holiday spot for the capital dwellers. Nearby, some dining places and viewpoints serve as gathering point to teenagers and couples in the night.
\nFor a young couple, the opportunity of having a \u201ccustom made\u201d house at a small price seemed a nearly impossible task, but we managed to design a cinder block house that suited their needs for less than $20,000 USD. Usually, cinder block is associated with the run down neighborhoods of Mexico City, but we always found this material appealing. A double height box standing on four 12ft pillars makes a single living space facing the urban landscape through one large window. In a way, it became a voyeuristic and introverted object that resembles a parked vehicle looking at the city lights at dusk.<\/p>\n