A boutique hotel inspired by ancient reservoirs and temples
Located in Punta Zicatela, Mexico’s national surf capital, Casa TO was founded as the first design hospitality experience in the area. It is a space that integrates harmoniously into its setting with a combination of striking materiality and respect for nature.
The name, Casa TO – or Templo Oaxaqueño – emerges from a reflection on the concepts of house and temple. This reinterpretation of an Oaxacan temple generates a radical sensory experience upon entering, filling the senses with green views, natural sounds, and a tranquility that invites undisturbed observation.
The design hotel offers nine suites with an atmosphere of sober simplicity. On the ground floor there are six suites with separate terraces, while the upper floor is divided into three suites with outdoor bathtubs. The layout of the rooms ensures privacy, making them invisible from the outside.
Architect Ludwig Godefroy is known for his work with raw, honest and exposed materials. The focal point of Casa TO is the covered infinity pool and solarium. The former alludes to the vaulted volumes and the signature style of Le Corbusier with rectilinear lines, exposed loadbearing walls, lightweight structures, and open-plan interiors.
The identity of Casa TO evokes the reticulated pattern of two historical hydraulic works, the Islamic architecture of the Yerebatan Sarayı (Medusa Cistern) in Istanbul, and the underground water tanks of Finsbury Park Reservoir, London. Both these reference points make use of a grid in two directions that changes radically every 45º and reconfigures itself.
Casa TO is a project that seeks to combine aesthetics and functionality in harmony with the environment, and have a low impact on the natural world. A water treatment plant was installed, which allows 100% reuse of water for irrigation of green areas.
The sober simplicity of the interior design, by Daniel Cinta, took as its starting point a color palette inspired by the original vegetation on the site. This included a Bismarck palm and an ironwork door. Furniture built by expert carpenters from Puebla, Guadalajara, and Oaxaca conveys a sense of simplicity and delicacy.
The landscaping was conceived to produce a gradual process of appropriation of the architecture by nature, with creepers concealing the concrete from the outside.
Casa TO is committed to the responsible management of resources, particularly in relation to the use of water. This was facilitated by Mexican wastewater specialists TIM, using biological procedures to reuse water for irrigation, toilets and other non-potable water consumption. The biologically stabilized solids obtained from this process can be used in compost.
Project: Casa TO / Location: Calle Morelos S/N, Brisas de Zicatela, Santa Maria Colotepec, Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca, México / Architecture: Ludwig Godefroy / Development: Surreal Estate / Construction: Obed Moreno / Interior Design: Daniel Cinta / Landscaping: Gisela Kenigsberg,Daniel Cinta / Water Treatment System: Think TIM / Site area: 600m² / Bldg. area: 950m² / Completion: 2022 / Photograph: ©Jaime Navarro (courtesy of the architect)
