Project: Casa Solai
Architecture: Studio Saxe
Design Director: Benjamin G Saxe
Landscape: Vida Design Studio + Grey’s Garden
Builder: Construcoast
Structural Engineer: Guidi
Location: Santa Teresa, Costa Rica
Year: 2024
Photo Credits: Alvaro Fonseca
Set high on a hilltop above the Pacific in Santa Teresa, Casa Solai by Studio Saxe consists of two wooden pavilions rising gently above the jungle canopy to frame sweeping ocean views. Designed to merge with the lush topography, the residence offers a serene retreat where architecture, interiors, and landscape form a single harmonious narrative.
A Dialogue Between Opposites
The design concept balances grounded solidity with airy lightness, protection with openness. Two geometric volumes — one anchored to the hillside, the other seemingly floating — define the home’s architectural language. An interstitial space bridges the forms, creating moments of transition and connection. Wrapped in wooden brise-soleil, the elevated volume controls light and airflow while enhancing the sense of levitation. Layered spaces reveal framed views, gradual arrivals, and fluid boundaries between built form and untamed landscape.
Experiential Design and Approach
Approached via a stepping stone path bordered by dense native planting, the home reveals itself gradually. The lower volume is embedded in the hill, while the upper is encased in a timber louver system. These louvers, supported structurally by the second level, create a striking visual lightness despite their complexity. Meticulous joinery and seamless material transitions echo the purity of the concept. Full-height glazing ensures thermal comfort while inviting constant engagement with the surrounding jungle and ocean.
The interstitial zone acts as a tranquil threshold, framing nature and guiding movement. An open stairwell rises through a vertical garden, and terraces cascade toward an infinity pool that visually merges with the horizon. On rare days, the moon sets directly over the ocean — a moment of natural theater perfectly framed by the home’s architecture.
Interiors with Coastal Warmth
Studio Saxe oversaw the interior architecture and decoration from the earliest design phases, ensuring a cohesive vision. Locally sourced reforested teak ceilings and natural stone walls create texture and continuity, while an earthy palette mirrors Santa Teresa’s coastal atmosphere. The interiors combine bespoke international pieces with work from local artists and craftspeople, including handmade tiles, sculptural lighting, and fossil-rich stone surfaces.
Custom furniture, such as the dining table designed by Studio Saxe, reflects the home’s structural language. Built-in planters bring greenery indoors, while integrated lighting, audio, and shading systems enhance comfort without interrupting the spatial clarity.
Sustainable by Design
Casa Solai functions as a largely self-sustaining retreat. Rainwater is collected and filtered on-site, solar energy powers essential systems, and passive cooling strategies minimize energy consumption. The floating bamboo louvers are made from responsibly harvested mosso bamboo, reducing solar gain while supporting natural ventilation. Durable materials — reforested teak, natural stone — ensure longevity and minimal maintenance in the coastal climate.
Crafting Lightness and Strength
A robust concrete plinth anchors the home to the land, providing seismic stability. Above, a prefabricated steel frame supports the timber-clad pavilions, allowing for precise assembly and minimal site disturbance. The louver system, suspended from the upper framework, required careful coordination to achieve its weightless appearance. This hybrid construction method preserved the natural terrain while delivering a refined architectural expression that seems to float above the jungle floor.
Casa Solai is both a technical achievement and an architectural meditation on balance — between structure and setting, innovation and tradition, permanence and lightness. It is a coastal home that feels inseparable from its landscape, offering a timeless dialogue between nature and design.
