Holiday House in Monterrey, Mexico by Tatiana Bilbao | Yellowtrace

Holiday House in Monterrey, Mexico by Tatiana Bilbao | Yellowtrace

Holiday House in Monterrey, Mexico by Tatiana Bilbao | Yellowtrace

Holiday House in Monterrey, Mexico by Tatiana Bilbao | Yellowtrace

Holiday House in Monterrey, Mexico by Tatiana Bilbao | Yellowtrace

Holiday House in Monterrey, Mexico by Tatiana Bilbao | Yellowtrace

Holiday House in Monterrey, Mexico by Tatiana Bilbao | Yellowtrace

 

Like something out of a Guillermo del Toro fantasy, this holiday home near the mountains of northeastern Mexico is an enchanting illusion in three parts. Called Los Terrenos (‘The Terrain’), the home is the work of Mexico City-based Tatiana Bilbao, and is located in a forest at the foothill of a mountain range. Made up of three separate volumes (one yet to be built), the deconstructed house is fragmented based on function, and laid out in the corners of a perfect square on the site, encircling an organically shaped pool in the centre.

The living room and kitchen may be the most striking—enveloped in mirrored glass, it’s rendered almost invisible amongst the trees. With an asymmetrical peaked roof, the façade both reflects and encloses the surrounding forest. Inside is an open plan, sparsely furnished kitchen, dining area, and living room. Wide glass doors swing open to continue the immediate connection with nature and open out onto the surrounding terracotta-paved terrace.

 

Related: Liquid Pavilion By DepA For The Serralves Museum Of Contemporary Art In Porto, Portugal.

 

Holiday House in Monterrey, Mexico by Tatiana Bilbao | Yellowtrace

Holiday House in Monterrey, Mexico by Tatiana Bilbao | Yellowtrace

Holiday House in Monterrey, Mexico by Tatiana Bilbao | Yellowtrace

Holiday House in Monterrey, Mexico by Tatiana Bilbao | Yellowtrace

Holiday House in Monterrey, Mexico by Tatiana Bilbao | Yellowtrace

Holiday House in Monterrey, Mexico by Tatiana Bilbao | Yellowtrace

Holiday House in Monterrey, Mexico by Tatiana Bilbao | Yellowtrace

Holiday House in Monterrey, Mexico by Tatiana Bilbao | Yellowtrace

 

A floor to ceiling ceramic screen in a chevron pattern covers the rear wall—and runs through the entire project in various ways. While during the day, the mirrored façade obscures the room from sight, at night, lights inside make the mirror transparent, and the glowing interior is revealed.

The second volume houses two bedrooms on an L-shaped plan. While the walls are made of rammed earth and clay bricks, one side of each bedroom features a retractable glass partition allowing it to open out into the trees. Both bedrooms feature wooden platforms and stairs to create a stepped topography, as well as storage space. The final, still to be built building will be the master bedroom—in a wooden house on stilts, with sweeping views above the treetops.

 

Related: Stories On Design // Mesmerising Mirrors in Art & Architecture.

 

 


[Images courtesy of Tatiana Bilbao. Photography by Rory Gardiner.]

 



About The Author

Sammy Preston is a writer, editor, and curator living in Sydney. Working especially within art and design, and then lifestyle and culture more broadly, Sammy is a senior writer at Broadsheet, and a contributing digital editor at Foxtel's Lifestyle platform. Sammy also contributes regularly to art and design press like VAULT Magazine, Art Collector, Art Edit, Habitus, and Indesign magazines. She's written art essays for MUSEUM, exhibition texts for Sophie Gannon Gallery, and has worked as an arts and culture editor for FBi Radio. In 2016, she worked as part of the editorial team for Indesign Magazine as digital editor during the publication's pivotal print and website redesign. Sammy was also the founding manager and curator of contemporary art space Gallery 2010—a curator-run initiative housed within a Surry Hills loading dock. The gallery hosted exhibitions with emerging and established artists from 2012 until 2016.

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