CASA NEGRETE | Ikanimej Arquitectos

Casa Negrete represents the archetype of a single-family home, with the distinction that upon entering, it constantly relates to the exterior. It does this through its terraces, prominent patio and garden; all of which ensure the privacy of its inhabitants.

Located towards the east of Toluca, a Mexican city, which is characterized by its predominant cold weather during the year; a determining factor for the North-South orientation. The plot has a 240 square meter area and is at the margin of a public street.

The facade is simple, highlighted by a pink wall, arranged in a square surrounding a garden that can be discovered once you enter the house. Its south-facing windows illuminate and provide warmth to the interior.

The functionality of the house is traditional: it is divided into collective spaces and private rooms on 3 levels.

On the ground floor, the social area is distributed on a north-south axis: which runs from the garden, followed by a double-height living/dining room (that links with the first level) and continues horizontally towards the kitchen and patio. This arrangement generates an atmosphere with scale changes, where the relationship between interior and exterior creates an ideal space for coexistence surrounded by the garden and patio.

On the first level there is a living room with a south facing terrace and two bedrooms facing the patio which (on the ground floor) is surrounded by the kitchen and study.
The volume of the main room is set on the second level, as to not be visible from street level. Once again, privacy and sun orientation are prioritized, through a south-facing terrace, which is linked to the garden and the terrace on the first level.

Casa Negrete was conceived as a home in which the spaces allow for versatility of use by the inhabitants, who in parallel discover freedom and a feeling of fresh air through its open spaces. 
As time passes by and with the current “new normal”, we have confirmed that this prototype is an ideal home for activities such as: study, work, exercise, coexistence or even meditation; and that these activities can’t be confined or determined by a single place (room) set for their practice.