Courtyard House

This private family house is located on the former site of a large private garden, featuring specimen palm trees, in Cuernavaca, Mexico. The building is organised around a central open courtyard that incorporates indigenous volcanic stone.

The benign climate allows for the distinction between the inside and the outside to be blurred, with large sliding glass screens opening onto the central courtyard; these remain open during most of the year.

The exterior has smaller apertures and deep overhangs to maintain privacy and reduce solar gain. The courtyard features a fireplace built from volcanic stone quarried on site. Masonry walls and stone floors keep the house cool in the daytime and radiate heat at night.