The JSH Villa is conceived as a sculptural tropical refuge, a compact urban villa that opens inward to its own elevated garden rather than to the street. The gesture is a continuous white shell that folds up from the ground, wraps the habitable volume and frames a generous open void where vegetation, water and light become the main protagonists. The architecture aims to express calm and lightness while providing strong climatic protection for the intense sun of Cancún.
The composition is based on two main elements: the outer shell and the inner prism. The outer shell, with its soft radiused corners, tilts forward and creates a deep canopy that shades the upper terrace and pool. Behind it, a pure vertical volume houses the main living spaces. The offset between these two geometries generates dynamic shadows and a sense of movement, making the house read as a single fluid object from the street while preserving a compact, efficient footprint.
The façade combines smooth white plastered surfaces with vertical aluminum fins and warm timber cladding. The continuous white skin provides a monolithic, almost carved appearance, whereas the slender fins introduce rhythm, privacy and solar control on the more exposed eastern side. The timber planter band softens the transition between architecture and landscape, anchoring the floating shell. Large glazed panels are recessed behind the envelope to reduce direct solar gain, while dark frames visually dissolve to highlight the sculptural massing.
The project organizes daily life around an elevated tropical terrace carved within the shell. Here, a linear pool, timber deck and lounge area become an outdoor living room suspended above the garden level. Double-height glazing stitches interior spaces to this terrace, enabling cross-views and natural ventilation. From the street, the house appears introspective; once inside, it opens fully to sky, water and vegetation, offering privacy from the neighborhood while maintaining an intense connection with the climate and landscape.
The inclined roof and deep overhangs function as an environmental device, reducing incident solar radiation on the glazed surfaces and creating a permanently shaded microclimate for the terrace. Vertical fins on the side façade act as a brise-soleil, filtering low-angle sun and allowing controlled airflow. The narrow floor plate favors cross-ventilation, reducing the need for mechanical cooling. The solid stair and service core are positioned toward the harsher solar orientations, protecting the more transparent living areas and bedrooms.
Vegetation is integrated as a continuous green layer that wraps the perimeter of the terrace and spills over the timber planter edge, visually merging the villa with the surrounding trees. Palm trees rise through openings in the deck and pool, reinforcing the sensation of inhabiting a suspended garden. This green buffer helps cool the envelope, retains rainwater in the soil substrate and improves local biodiversity. The combination of passive shading, cross-ventilation, reduced footprint and layered planting strategy contributes to a more sustainable, climate-responsive villa appropriate for the coastal context of Cancún.
The JSH Villa is conceived as a sculptural tropical refuge, a compact urban villa that opens inward to its own elevated garden rather than to the street. The gesture is a continuous white shell that folds up from the ground, wraps the habitable volume and frames a generous open void where vegetation, water and light become the main protagonists. The architecture aims to express calm and lightness while providing strong climatic protection for the intense sun of Cancún.
The composition is based on two main elements: the outer shell and the inner prism. The outer shell, with its soft radiused corners, tilts forward and creates a deep canopy that shades the upper terrace and pool. Behind it, a pure vertical volume houses the main living spaces. The offset between these two geometries generates dynamic shadows and a sense of movement, making the house read as a single fluid object from the street while preserving a compact, efficient footprint.
The façade combines smooth white plastered surfaces with vertical aluminum fins and warm timber cladding. The continuous white skin provides a monolithic, almost carved appearance, whereas the slender fins introduce rhythm, privacy and solar control on the more exposed eastern side. The timber planter band softens the transition between architecture and landscape, anchoring the floating shell. Large glazed panels are recessed behind the envelope to reduce direct solar gain, while dark frames visually dissolve to highlight the sculptural massing.
The project organizes daily life around an elevated tropical terrace carved within the shell. Here, a linear pool, timber deck and lounge area become an outdoor living room suspended above the garden level. Double-height glazing stitches interior spaces to this terrace, enabling cross-views and natural ventilation. From the street, the house appears introspective; once inside, it opens fully to sky, water and vegetation, offering privacy from the neighborhood while maintaining an intense connection with the climate and landscape.
The inclined roof and deep overhangs function as an environmental device, reducing incident solar radiation on the glazed surfaces and creating a permanently shaded microclimate for the terrace. Vertical fins on the side façade act as a brise-soleil, filtering low-angle sun and allowing controlled airflow. The narrow floor plate favors cross-ventilation, reducing the need for mechanical cooling. The solid stair and service core are positioned toward the harsher solar orientations, protecting the more transparent living areas and bedrooms.
Vegetation is integrated as a continuous green layer that wraps the perimeter of the terrace and spills over the timber planter edge, visually merging the villa with the surrounding trees. Palm trees rise through openings in the deck and pool, reinforcing the sensation of inhabiting a suspended garden. This green buffer helps cool the envelope, retains rainwater in the soil substrate and improves local biodiversity. The combination of passive shading, cross-ventilation, reduced footprint and layered planting strategy contributes to a more sustainable, climate-responsive villa appropriate for the coastal context of Cancún.
Nuestras oficinas están en Barcelona, Cancún, Chicago y Santo Domingo, pero gracias a la tecnología podemos desarrollar proyectos en cualquier parte del mundo.
Barcelona
Bac de Roda 136
08020, Barcelona
Spain
Madrid
Av. de Buendía 11
19005 Guadalajara (Madrid)
Spain
Chicago
373 Hazel Ave, Apt A1
60022, Glencoe, Illinois
United States