To Get to the Guest Unit at This Mexican Home, Just Take the Tunnel From the Roof

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Project Details:

Location: Valle de Bravo, Mexico

Architect: Pedro y Juana / @pedroyjuana

Footprint: 1,098 square feet

Builder: Taller AF

Cabinetry Design: Sistema 32

Photographer: Ramiro Chaves

Photographer: Diego Manzano

From the Architect: "The Annex, designed by Pedro&Juana, is a vivid example of how architecture can evolve alongside the needs of its inhabitants. Located on the edge of a lake in Valle de Bravo, in Mexico, the Annex is an extension of a home originally designed by José Iturbe.

"Built on a slope that rises from the waterline up into the green mountain, stairways were both a necessity and a defining feature of the original house. Pedro&Juana took the gesture further, making the stairs the focal point of their design. Opening up the roof, they made way for a stair tunnel that continues the stairway of the existing house and connects it with the new wooden annex, carved into the mountainside. This connection expands the back of the house and provides a new secondary entrance to the annex and the service area below. A wide brick staircase leads down through the tunnel into a newly covered patio that serves as an overflow for the redesigned kitchen. Back at the top, the annex consists of a bedroom, two bathrooms, and a versatile kitchen-slash-studio-slash-bedroom. A beautiful interior patio connects both rooms, creating an intimate outdoor space.

"With a design attuned to life’s evolving needs, the choice of wood as a sustainable building material felt natural and fitting. It also aligns with Pedro&Juana’s initiative, La Liga de la Madera, which promotes wood construction in Mexico as a circular and sustainable alternative to the predominant use of steel, concrete, brick, and mortar. To complement this sensible approach, every detail—every nook, landscape, tile, and most of the furniture from the kitchen to the two-room wooden addition—was designed by Pedro&Juana. The result is a creative redesign that weaves stairs and patios, textures, plants, wood, and brick into a fantastic addition that enhances the beauty of the original house and its surroundings."