Merida is the capital of the Yucatan province, and is a beautiful colonial city with a very rich history and interesting culture. The house is approximately 150 years old, and like most homes in the Centro district, has the distinct features of tall ceilings and large rooms, stone walls (mamposteria) and beautiful handmade cement tile (pasta) floors.
Most homes are set right on the sidewalk with usually a big heavy wooden door and a single window as the only connection to the street. The facades are painted in an array of bright colours though, so the streets become an interesting tapestry of colours and textures.
The design is relatively simple, and aims to improve the sequence of spaces common in these colonial era homes. The front reception room is usually the most impressive space - welcoming the guests.and setting the tone for the house. Our reception room is 6.8m x 4.7m (22' x 15') with 4.9m (16') ceilings, and has all the qualities you would want in this space.
The problem with the existing house begins from there. A previous renovation poked an unfortunate door leading into the first bedroom directly off the reception, which is very unusual. The more traditional flow of a house is to move from front to back from the reception down a central corridor or arcade with rooms typically off of this. The problem with this house is that the flow from front to back was blocked by a kitchen island and a huge kitchen wall/corridor to the back garden.
By blowing out the kitchen and the massive wall, the flow from the front through to the back garden has been completely opened up. The existing side patio has been converted into a dining space, but it is all much more indoor/outdoor living. We are adding a pool and another seating area with a pergola - maximizing the small garden space by creating different zones with different qualities of light and shade.
I'll start by showing the final design drawings and some renderings, and some existing photos. The construction process will be documented separately (soon)....it's all meant to be completed by Christmas !
Hello Paul, Very interesting blog. I came across you via Marc's Alaskan in Yucatan. You're right: there can never be too many blogs on building a house in Yucatan.
ReplyDeleteI like your features of interesting small houses elsewhere too. Looking forward to seeing more. I guess I need to tend to my own blog more. Many thoughts, not many written down.