This A-Frame Home In Mexico City Has An Underground Floor With Submerged Bedrooms

Designed by local studio Pérez Palacios Arquitectos Asociados, this wooden A-Frame house is located in a forested area outside of Mexico City. The home features unique underground bedrooms and is surrounded by greenery on all sides, in the forest of Valle de Bravo. The expansive home includes two volumes stacked on top of each other, with the public living spaces located above, and the private living spaces located below.

Pros:

Built using pre-fabricated elements
The pitched roof is used for rainwater harvesting, filtering light, and passively ventilating the home

Cons:

The home is quite open and expansive with large windows, which could create a privacy issue
It could be tricky to move furniture between the two floors

Designer: Pérez Palacios Arquitectos Asociados

The A-Frame House has a large ground level featuring a semi-open living and dining room, kitchen, and family room. These spaces have a minimal footprint to create adequate space for a terrace. Pre-fabricated elements were brought to the site, and put together to build the A-Frame structure. The top and sides of the home have been covered in glass, including the space at the back. The terrace holds an outdoor pool and lounge area to allow residents to feel closer to the natural surroundings of the home. “The main goal of this project was to give more importance to the surroundings present and to the open space given, embracing the idea of emptiness even with the possibility of having the architecture disappear,” said Pérez Palacios Arquitectos Asociados (PPAA) founder Pablo Pérez Palacios.

Quite interestingly, a submerged staircase on the terrace grants access to the lower level which accommodates three bedrooms with private baths, and a small study. The sleeping sections have been artfully concealed into the ground, with surrounding trees providing an ample amount of privacy. “This design method gives you the possibility to really disconnect while enjoying your own solitude in the surrounding nature, gently forcing you to have that moment of relationship with the site, even if you’re just going to bed,” said Pérez Palacios.

The exterior of the home has a black finish accentuated by dark roof tiles, whereas the interiors are quite minimal and warm, highlighted with natural materials in neutral tones, and certified wood on the walls. The pitched roof of the A-Frame house isn’t just for aesthetic purposes, it also collects rainwater which is then transferred to an open water deposit for reuse.