Architects: Blending Dots Arquitectos, Rogelio Castillo
Area: 428.79 m²
Year: 2025
Photography: Phocus
Lead Architects: Luis Ivan Guerrero Villa, Emmanuel Javier Trinidad Sandoval, Rogelio Arturo Castillo Prieto
Design Team: Luis Iván Guerrero Villa, Emmanuel Javier Trinidad Sandoval, Rogelio Arturo Castillo Prieto
Materials: Compacted earth, exposed concrete, apparent steel
City: San Miguel de Allende
Country: Mexico
Casa Estrato is a completed single-family residence located within a desert landscape on the outskirts of San Miguel de Allende, adjacent to an ecological reserve. Designed by Blending Dots Arquitectos in collaboration with architect Rogelio Castillo, the project investigates architecture as a layered condition, where material systems are organized vertically to reference geological stratification. The ground level is constructed from compacted earth, providing thermal mass and a direct physical connection to the terrain. Interior spaces transition into exposed concrete, emphasizing structural clarity and material permanence. Above, two oxidized steel volumes define the private areas, connected through transparent vertical circulation elements. Operable steel lattices on the rear façade regulate light, ventilation, and privacy while framing views toward the protected landscape. Through a restrained palette and clear material sequencing, the house establishes a dialogue between construction, environment, and spatial experience.
Casa Estrato approaches domestic architecture not as an object placed on the site but as a condition that emerges from it. The project frames inhabitation as a gradual ascent through matter, where weight, texture, and enclosure shape the experience of moving through the house. This conceptual framework positions the dwelling as an architectural extension of the desert terrain, grounded in the physical realities of climate and landscape.
The lowest level establishes this relationship through compacted earth walls that form a dense and tactile base. Their thickness and porosity create a sense of protection while responding to thermal demands. Subtle variations in tone and texture register changes in natural light throughout the day, reinforcing the perception of the house as something excavated rather than assembled.
Within the interior, exposed concrete replaces earth as the dominant material, introducing a more controlled and measured spatial language. Left intentionally unfinished, the concrete surfaces reveal construction logic and structural intent. This layer operates as a transition between the grounded base and the elevated volumes above, maintaining continuity while allowing the architecture to shift in character.
The upper level is articulated as two oxidized steel volumes that sit above the concrete layer as distinct elements. Closed toward the street, these volumes open inward and are connected by vertical glass circulation spaces that act as thresholds rather than corridors. Transparency within these connectors introduces lightness and visual permeability, offsetting the weight and opacity of the steel.
At the rear, the house opens decisively toward the desert and the adjoining ecological reserve. Operable rusted steel lattice panels function as environmental mediators, allowing the façade to alternate between openness and protection. Through its deliberate material progression from earth to concrete to steel, Casa Estrato presents architecture as a constructed stratigraphy, where domestic life unfolds across layers shaped by origin, transformation, and permanence.
Project Gallery
Project Location
Address: San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Valley of the Trails, Mexico
The location specified is intended for general reference and may denote a city or country, but it does not identify a precise address.
