Project: Tropical Pergola
Architects: Studio Saxe
Design Director: Benjamin G. Saxe
Builder: Cr-Eco
Structural Engineer: APÉSTEGUI+BLAIR
Electromechanical Engineer: CIEM
Landscape: Saxe Lanscape
Location: Puerto Viejo, Limon, Costa Rica
Date of completion: December 2021
Area: Approx. 495m2
Photography: Andres Garcia Lachner
Overview
Studio Saxe weaves tropical pergola in the jungle of the Caribbean coast of Puerto Viejo, Limon.
Concept
Pavilions were joined through a woven network of pergolas that blend with the jungle creating a sense of unity through an internal courtyard.
Design
We designed a strategy of aggregation by creating a network of triangled pergolas that can grow or contract depending on the necessity of the client throughout the project. This in turn allows for people to circulate and go to different rooms and private or social areas around the house while weaving through existing vegetation and jungle. Each room is a contained space that can be placed anywhere around the property.
Sustainability
The project was conceived as a series of objects placed around the property and within existing trees, it is also placed stepping down the mountain to allow for the topographic condition to be gentle with the built architecture. Together with solar energy generation, water-efficient systems, and passive bioclimatic design, this project sets a new example design for the tropical region of the coast of Costa Rica.
Construction
Through a series of repeating triangles, the house was erected modularly and each individual private or public space was enclosed through walls and glass thus creating a sensation of a network that can continue growing in time.
