Chain + Siman balances "old and new" at gabled Mexican house
Mexican architecture studio Chain + Siman has created a weekend house with a series of contemporary gables that connects to a stone-clad bunkhouse in Valle de Bravo, outside of Mexico City.
Known as Casa Ani, the 689-square-metre residence was completed in 2025, a few hours from the Chain + Siman studio in Mexico City.
The studio's design was informed by a gabled structure that had long stood on the property.
The team drew this heritage form into a single-roofed, stone-and-timber house and a contemporary three-gabled structure wrapped in black standing-seam metal.
"Casa Ani grew out of a dialogue between old and new," Chain + Siman told Dezeen.
"The result is a conversation across materials and time: stone against metal, tile against steel, the weight of history against the lightness of the new."
The primary entrance passes through the largest of the three glass gables.
On the east side, the three-gabled form holds the social areas of the house with the living and dining room, kitchen and primary suite encapsulated beneath independent A-frame roofs elevated above floor-to-ceiling glazing.
"Dark metal cladding frames inclined wooden planes, creating a lightweight and rhythmic facade," the studio said.
"The repetition of the A-frame roofs brings dynamism to the composition, while the glazing of the final volume extends across almost its entire elevation, revealing the social areas and reinforcing their open character."
The largest of these gabled forms holds the living room, centred on a black-steel fireplace set against a palette of warm-toned engineered wood. It looks out onto outdoor seating and a pool.
Set perpendicularly to the contemporary form, the two-story stone building juts along the eastern longitudinal axis of the irregular site.
"This stone structure accommodates the bedrooms and presents a largely closed facade toward the street," the studio said.
"A large window interrupts its solidity, framing a double-height space and a steel staircase that emphasises the contrast between mass and transparency."
A warm-toned family room with a built-in lounging platform is the heart of the stone building, transitioning to a secondary suite and service and storage spaces. Above, three suites extend the sleeping quarters with double porches that traverse the long side of the form.
Surrounded by a landscape designed by Pedro Sánchez Paisajismo, the extensive program extends outdoors into a space in which olive trees, flowering species and an orchard blend into the forest.
"The residence incorporates an off-grid strategy through solar panels and battery storage located on the south-facing metal roofs," the studio said.
"Their formal integration allows them to blend with the architecture, reducing both visual and environmental impact while reinforcing the project’s energy autonomy."
A popular holiday destination on the banks of Lake Avándaro, Valle de Bravo is home to several other recent geometric designs.
Sordo Madaleno divided a house across six red, rounded pavilions, Fernanda Canales oriented a circular house like a solar clock and Pedro & Juana connected an extension with a zigzag tunnel staircase.
The photography is by Rafael Gamo.
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