Ocote House / PPAA

Architects: PPAA
Area: 342 m²
Year: 2024
Photography: Luis Garvan
Lead Architects: Pablo Pérez Palacios
Architects Team: Pablo Pérez Palacios, Emilio Calvo, Miguel Vargas, Adán García, Andrés Domínguez, Nancy Estévez
City/Location: Valle de Bravo
Country: Mexico

Ocote House is a residential retreat in Valle de Bravo designed to accommodate two families within a single architectural framework that carefully balances shared living and personal privacy. The house is organized over two levels, with communal spaces located on the ground floor and private rooms above, allowing daily activities and moments of rest to coexist without conflict. An open plan arrangement connects interior social areas to an expansive semi-covered terrace, responding to the local climate and reinforcing continuity between indoors and outdoors. The upper level is structured symmetrically around a central staircase, granting each family autonomy while maintaining a clear spatial relationship to the shared core. Water features, terraces, and framed views contribute to a calm and contemplative atmosphere throughout the project.

The project approaches collective living as an architectural opportunity rather than a constraint. From the outset, Ocote House establishes a measured sequence that encourages awareness and pause, shaping the experience of arrival as an integral part of the domestic narrative. The architecture is not conceived as an object set apart from its surroundings, but as a structure that mediates relationships between people, landscape, and routine.

At the entrance, a shallow body of water defines the threshold to the house. The reflective surface amplifies the façade and surrounding vegetation, visually extending the architecture while introducing a sense of stillness. This element establishes an immediate connection between built form and nature, using reflection and light to soften the transition into the interior.

The ground floor is dedicated to social life, where living room, kitchen, and dining spaces are arranged as a continuous environment. These areas open fully onto a large semi-covered terrace, transforming outdoor space into an extension of everyday use. The configuration supports gatherings and informal interaction, while maintaining flexibility and comfort within a single, unified spatial field.

Private functions are located on the upper level, where the plan becomes more structured and deliberate. A central staircase operates as both circulation and organizing spine, dividing the floor symmetrically. Each wing accommodates bedrooms and private terraces for one family, ensuring independence while preserving visual connections to the garden and landscape beyond.

Through its restrained composition and clear hierarchy, Ocote House articulates a model of shared retreat grounded in balance and precision. The project prioritizes atmosphere over formal expression, relying on proportion, symmetry, and natural elements to create a place for rest, reflection, and strengthened personal bonds within a calm architectural setting.