Riviera Nayarit Villa | de Reus Architects

A 19-acre site along a thousand-foot stretch of white coral beach meant our approach had to be structured yet fluid. We wanted to create architecture that would disappear seamlessly into the coastline. We designed a casual, tropical aesthetic where a grasscrete paved entry road winds gently through a nature preserve of one-thousand palms.

Arrival is an event to be celebrated. Impressive hardwood gates open onto a formal stone motor court enclosed by 14-foot stone walls. Visitors climb a half-flight of pyramid-shaped stairs to a colonnaded, thatched-roof portico pointing toward the ocean, sky, and horizon — the reason for visiting the villa

On the 3-acre garden, we created a village of separate pavilions for arrival, gathering, playing and sleeping. The design sees formal symmetry played against asymmetries. Open spaces and pavilions were arranged and connected with promenades, offering different experiences for every mood. Sometimes axial, sometimes episodic, the promenades introduce a place to enjoy and meander where pavilions and gardens reveal themselves, acting as transitional spaces. Like a traditional home’s anteroom, these outdoor transition spaces lend an air of graciousness. Straight and serpentine walls weave through the site, providing privacy and security while achieving that all-important sense of intimacy for a home built on many acres.

We designed the individual pavilions as palapas — indigenous thatched-roof structures — and had them hand-crafted locally. Palapas are supported by native Mato Palo tree trunk columns braided by strangler vines. We hybridized some palapas with stone walls and details that recollect Meso-American temples. Over 8,000 tons of stone was mined from an ancient Mayan quarry to match the deep ochre of Mayan ruins, forming the walls, podia, coursing, and cornices that recall Mayan temples. We extended the massive limestone piers at the gathering room’s corners into the adjacent swimming pool, where pedestals rising out of water reinforce the Meso-American spirit of place.

de Reus Design Team
Mark de Reus – Principal
Steve Ewing – Project Manager

Project Team
Architecture: de Reus Achitects
Interior Designer: Juan Montoya Design Corp.
Contractor: Martel Construction, Inc
Civil Engineer: Nolte de Mexico S.A. de C.V.
Structural Engineer: Grupo de Ingeniería DICA
Electrical Engineer: DASBY – Arellano Ingenieria
Landscape: Hawaiian Landscapes, Inc.
Lighting: Hawtof Associates, Lumino Grafica
Acoustical Engineer: Saad Acustica
Theatrical/AV: Grupo Rubber
Environmental Impact Consultant: Ecoplumb
Marine Civil Consultant: Consultor Especialista En Obra Maritima
Swimming Pool System: Swimquip
HVAC: CYVSA, DYPRO
Tech Review Committee: DINE

Photography: Petr Myska