Casa Houlpoch

C asa Houlpochis an old Yucatecan house from the end ofthe last century that gets its name from a snake from the region that regularly“visited” the property's ruins. Behind its colonial facade, this houseaccommodates four bedrooms and a studio apartment, with a total of 315 squaremeters of construction. Upon entering the hall, we are welcomed byan old cast iron lamp (very common to observe in the nineteenth-century housesof the city) that hangs from the original metal beams that together with thewhite wooden beams embellish the high ceilings of the residence. The Livingroom, in pastel tones, hasmodern and casual furniture byArtesano, integrating greenery and piecesof art fromGalería Urbana Blanquis, such as a playfulTimoteoonthe center table and a painting by Pedro Friedeberg above the sofa, crowningthe space. The graypastatile “carpet” issurrounded by an antique white floor border that joins the kitchen and diningroom through three old colonial doors that were reused, as they were found,preserving their character and its historical value. The kitchen, with finishings in pasta tileand white quartz, has a reinterpretation of the old Yucatecan hoods above thestove. The pendant lamps, by Axoque Studio, harmonize the space and integrate themselves into the wooden furniture such as thetzalambenches and the dining room table, which were brought from Mozambique, acountry where the Dutch owners lived before settling in the Yucatan peninsula. The dining room is connected to theterrace through a sliding glass door, generating a feeling of spaciousness andclarity where the visuals escape to the exterior. It is in this space wherethrough decoration and furniture, the three cultures with which the ownersidentify themselves converge, the table, its centerpiece, and the drum, werebrought from Mozambique, as well as the patterns on fabric that covers twoUtrecht chairs by Dutch designer and architect Gerrit Rietvelt. On the sofarests a painting by the Mexican artist Fernando Andriacci and on the oppositeside a cow's head adorned with beads of Huichol art stands out as a decorativeelement just above a traditional Dutch bicycle with the colors of thePrinsenvlag. In the central courtyard, achukumpool surrounds the stone remains of an old colonial structure where a largetree generates a spectacular play of light and shadow with its frond, creatingthe perfect atmosphere to host an outdoor kitchen. The public and private parts of the houseare symbolically connected by the perimeter fence that plays with two differenttextures, on one hand, we have the original stone brickwork in the lower part,and in the upper part a new wall finished withchukum, linking the pastwith the present. The volumetry of the back of the propertyreads as a totally disruptive design from the historical part of the residencewhere the steps to the second level (where two rooms and a terrace are located)serve as a visual axis and as a sculptural element, becoming the hallmark ofits architecture for its dynamism. The “meandering” with which the CasaHoulpoch stairs begin takes as inspiration the millenary staircase of theancient temple of Kukulkán (Feathered Serpent and god in Mayan mythology) inChichén Itzá, where at each equinox it can be observed as the deity (formed dueto the effects of the light and the shadow that is generated), descends fromthe upper part of the temple. With a much simpler design, the masterbedroom on the first level has a headboard made of pasta tiles on which a NeonCaron painting rests. The views from the bed, escape to the exterior thanks tothe use of sliding glass doors at two opposite ends of the space, the firstwith a view of an interior garden and the second with a view of the pool. At Casa Houlpoch we seek to respect andrescue the historical values of Yucatecan colonial architecture,combining them with contemporary details and volumes; and with the comforts oftoday's life, in a reinterpretative, pure and sober way, creating differentatmospheres to relax and to enjoy the outdoors in the warm peninsular climate. Project:Casa Huolpoch Firm:Workshop, Diseño y Construcción Website: E-mail:contacto@workshop. com. mx Team:Arq. Francisco Bernés Aranda, Arq. Fabián Gutiérrez Cetina, Arq. Isabel BargasCicero, Ing. Alejandro Bargas Cicero. Facebook: Instagram: Location: Mérida, Yucatán. Completition date: June 2021. Covered area: (m2): 315 m2 Interior design:Workshop, Diseño y Construcción