3archlab’s concrete courtyard house is positioned against a cliff

On the front facade, black concrete planters enclose balconies that overlook the city. Glass panelling concertinas back at each level, connecting rooms to the concrete terraces. The main body of the building is made from concrete cast with wooden formwork. The external stairwell, constructed from concrete and stone, wraps around the courtyard and a large tree that grows in its centre. 3archlab   designed the three-bedroom dwelling, called   Casa BC, for a site in Mexico City that is hemmed in to the rear by a stoney cliff wall and at its sides by neighbouring properties. «We used existing stone and wooden formwork, and respected the site topography to create terraces and platforms,» Cohen told Dezeen. Three bedrooms, bathrooms and a TV room sit beneath that, and on the lowest storey there is a   cellar, gym and spa, and a garden that runs partially below the house. Cupboards built into the stairs creates storage for the kitchen. On the interior, a pine staircase provides access between   the garage, kitchen and TV room in inclement weather. At the bottom level, the courtyard stretches underneath the house as series of shallow steps, which gradually descend down to the front of the house. The area is backed by an existing stone wall that reaches up the face of the cliff. «We used mainly ferns in the garden and in the pots that surround all of the rooms to help us create spaces in connection with nature,» said the architect. First level –   click for larger imageSecond level –   click for larger imageThird level –   click for larger imageFourth level –   click for larger imageRoof level –   click for larger imageCross section one – click for larger imageCross section two –   click for larger imageLong section –   click for larger imageFront elevation – click for larger imageBack elevation –   click for larger image Three flights of stairs – one in the courtyard and two inside the building – connect the four levels and are designed as independent structures in a mixture of black concrete, stone and pine wood. «They wanted the house to help them disconnect from the city, like a summer or vacation house,» said studio architect Emilio Ades Cohen. Related story: Concrete tunnel extends through an old stone wall at Leyva 506 house by APT
Approached by a client who   asked for a home that had an «extreme relationship with nature» with «every space surrounded by it,» the architects came up with a house that connects at every floor to an outdoor courtyard sandwiched, between the back of the house and the cliff-face.