Mexican architecture practice Práctica Arquitectura has built a weekend retreat with a large inner courtyard that “becomes the diaphragm and regulates the interactions, deconstructing the hermetic division between public and private space” in the Mexican town of Tepoztlán, Mexico.

Named La Hacienda, the 750-square-metre house is located the town of Tepoztlán which is located within a valley with a pleasant, temperate climate and nestled amidst three rock formations, including El Tepozteco.

The house is arranged in a square layout that embraces a garden and a small pool harmonized with a green landscape. The two-storey house is surrounded by a Texcal volcanic stone that contains and shelters all the built spaces.

Read the full project narrative with the architects’ own words. These geographic and climatic conditions produce constant and abundant vegetation; it brims with a diversity of flora, and shelters both mountain and subtropical species within the same space. Visitors who explore the town find a unique and unrepeatable experience filled with hidden mystical and spiritual corners, a mixture of traditional and vernacular architecture and narrow cobblestone streets with low facades.

With this array of characteristics in mind, the prerogative of contributing to the architectural legacy of this valley instills a responsibility to evoke its mystical nature within the home, ensuring that the essence of Tepoztlán is always present.

The decision to build a weekend home in Tepoztlán reflects the sensitivity of the client´s desire for their quiet moments and their empathy toward the town. They seek belonging, not only to be able to disconnect from the city, but also because the architectural character of the town is reflected within their home. Currently a weekend residence for both the couple and their children, in the future it will become a retirement home. The areas must therefore satisfy a wide range of uses and be strategically arranged so as not to interrupt or limit other activities.

This corner lot, boasting 1270 square meters, is located within a gated community in a residential area. Its location provides a privileged view of El Tepozteco with orientation toward the north and an open sensation toward the west, east and south. It is flanked by homes in various stages of development; however, their ostentatiousness in terms of size, shape and language break the line with the natural landscape, making this home unique. In this sense, the project begins from a place of opposition to this jarring set of proposals to reclaim the elements of the town and its environment.

Tepoztlán is a place that is lived inwardly; its secrets are discovered within its patios and gardens, and inside its buildings. The beauty of its street facades is rooted in their sobriety and serenity, actively inviting the viewer to enter. With this intention, the home’s exterior is sober and serene, in silent respect for its environment, and it preserves its magic and mystery for those who enter within.

La Hacienda Jardín reflects on the typology of the weekend house and the specificities it requires in a given context by reinterpreting the concept of the hacienda. The architectural program questions the area’s predominant practice of first fencing off a property and then inserting a building and landscaping the rest.

This project does the opposite; it becomes a roofed wall open to the elements that contains a garden of endemic vegetation in its center. In this way, the large courtyard becomes the diaphragm that regulates the interactions, deconstructing the hermetic division between public and private spaces. The roof over the courtyard frames the Tepozteco mountain, allowing users to maintain an intimate relationship with their environment from any location.