{"id":6480,"date":"2026-04-06T10:00:18","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T10:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.angesfinanciers.org\/?p=6480"},"modified":"2026-04-10T15:29:04","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T15:29:04","slug":"black-concrete-defines-strong-and-monolithic-casa-mavra-in-mexico","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.angesfinanciers.org\/index.php\/2026\/04\/06\/black-concrete-defines-strong-and-monolithic-casa-mavra-in-mexico\/","title":{"rendered":"Black concrete defines “strong and monolithic” Casa Mavra in Mexico"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Casa<\/div>\n

Angular black-concrete volumes are punctured by small tree-filled patios at this home<\/a> in Mexico<\/a>, completed by architecture studio Taller Alberto Calleja.<\/span><\/p>\n

Named Casa Mavra, referencing the Greek word for black, the 1,300-square-metre home sits surrounded by dense woodland in the town of Valle de Bravo.<\/p>\n

Taller Alberto Calleja<\/a> (TAC) crafted the home’s low-lying form with black-pigmented concrete to blend in with the shadows of the surrounding trees, aiming to create a “sculptural architectural object” that would not dominate the landscape.<\/p>\n

\"Aerial
Taller Alberto Calleja has completed a black-concrete home in Mexico<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

“The intention was to create a strong and monolithic presence while allowing the spaces inside to remain intimate and closely connected to light, vegetation, and the experience of inhabiting the site,” the studio told Dezeen.<\/p>\n

“Although the house is conceived as a sculptural architectural object, it does not seek to compete with the landscape,” it added.<\/p>\n

“Instead, the intention was to position the volumes in a way that feels naturally grounded within the terrain, allowing the architecture to coexist with the mountains and vegetation rather than dominate them.”<\/p>\n

\"Casa
Tree-filled patios puncture its angular volume<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The two intersecting volumes of Casa Mavra form an X-shaped plan, entered from the south via a long stepped path alongside a narrow pool of water and sheltered by a concrete wall that gradually rises in height.<\/p>\n

This entrance route ends in a large patio space that divides a living, dining and kitchen wing to the west from a bedroom wing to the east.<\/p>\n

\"Patio
It is formed of two intersecting volumes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Each of these wings is accessed via a semi-external, covered corridor, linked to small patios with plants growing through circular and square cut-outs in the roof and walls.<\/p>\n

“One of the most significant gestures is the continuous wall that rises along the access sequence, accompanied by the sound of water descending along the stairways,” said the studio.<\/p>\n