House Solomia / Estudio D3B

Architects: Estudio D3B
Area: 400 m²
Year: 2025
Photography: Alvaro Fonseca
Lead Architect: Demian Bournissen
Technical Team: Shiary Martinez, Jose Pablo Jimenez
General Construction: Gianfranco Michelini
Interior Design: Heidi Hansen
Location: Malpaís
Country: Costa Rica

House Solomia, designed by Estudio D3B, is a 400-square-meter residence in Malpaís, Costa Rica, that reinterprets tropical architecture through a contemporary lens. Surrounded by dense vegetation and overlooking the Pacific Ocean, the home is shaped by a clear dialogue between structure and landscape. An L-shaped plan organizes the spaces to maximize views and cross-ventilation, while natural materials such as teak, stone, and sand-toned finishes root the project in its environment. Conceived as both a family dwelling and a flexible retreat, House Solomia blends openness and privacy in equal measure. The design achieves a subtle balance between architectural precision and natural spontaneity, creating a serene refuge that engages directly with its tropical context.

Set high above the coastline, House Solomia occupies a site defined by steep slopes and dense greenery. Estudio D3B approached the challenge of topography as an opportunity, designing a home that both responds to and enhances the terrain. The elevated position allows uninterrupted ocean views, while the surrounding vegetation provides natural shading and privacy. The house’s orientation toward the sunset informed the overall composition, ensuring that every major space benefits from changing light and temperature throughout the day.

The project’s defining L-shaped layout creates a geometric clarity that organizes the residence into distinct wings. This configuration frames a central garden and offers varied relationships with the landscape. One arm opens to the horizon, inviting the ocean breezes, while the other aligns with the slope, anchoring the house to the site. Together, they shape a semi-enclosed courtyard that becomes an outdoor living space, fostering a continuous interplay between openness and shelter.

Functionality and restraint guide the spatial organization. The architects arranged the public and private areas with precision, ensuring fluid transitions and visual continuity. Service zones are placed away from the views, allowing social areas to open fully to the landscape through terraces, gardens, and a pool. The double-height staircase garden connects the two floors, offering a vertical promenade that frames shifting perspectives of forest and sea, reinforcing the immersive quality of the experience.

In material terms, the design embraces a palette that celebrates natural tactility and local expression. Teak wood clads the exterior surfaces, its warm tones contrasting with the lighter finishes of the interiors. Natural stone and sand-colored plaster echo the hues of the coastal terrain, creating a cohesive visual dialogue between architecture and environment. This restrained material selection underscores the house’s understated elegance, allowing light and shadow to become essential design elements.

The roof geometry, composed of interlocking planes, reinforces the clarity of the L-shaped structure. These overhanging elements protect the interiors from intense tropical sunlight while shaping a strong architectural profile against the sky. The result is a composition that feels both deliberate and organic, integrating functional shading with a refined aesthetic presence.

House Solomia’s environmental strategy extends beyond form to embrace natural performance. The orientation and openness of the plan promote cross-ventilation, reducing the need for mechanical cooling. Shaded terraces, deep overhangs, and porous boundaries allow the home to breathe naturally. This approach exemplifies Estudio D3B’s commitment to sustainable design rooted in climate responsiveness rather than technological dependence.

Inside, the atmosphere is calm and tactile. The interior design by Heidi Hansen complements the architecture with a restrained palette and minimal ornamentation. Each room opens to a specific view or outdoor space, creating a rhythmic sequence of framed perspectives. The interplay of natural light, texture, and proportion cultivates a sense of intimacy within openness, where every element is designed to heighten awareness of the surrounding landscape.

Through its synthesis of geometry, materiality, and environment, House Solomia articulates a clear vision of contemporary tropical architecture. It is a home that prioritizes connection over enclosure, simplicity over excess, and presence over display. The house does not dominate its setting but rather converses with it, drawing strength from the natural beauty that surrounds it.

Ultimately, House Solomia represents a refined architectural statement about living in harmony with place. Estudio D3B has crafted a dwelling that transcends functionality, offering a contemplative refuge attuned to light, air, and landscape. By framing nature as both subject and collaborator, the architects have created a home that is at once grounded and expansive — a serene embodiment of Costa Rica’s coastal essence.