What does the small town of San Sebastián Tutla have in common with a retired American couple’s sudden decision to leave the US? That would be the site of Nuestro Sueño; Elizabeth and Ray’s dream house, the one they’d spent their lives working to fund, in the location that they’d dared to dream they would one day live.
But as well as adapting to a new culture and a very different society, the move would demand of them a major shift in their way of life.
Elizabeth and Ray fell in love with the city of Oaxaca upon visiting years earlier. But as well as adapting to a new culture and different society, the move would demand a major shift in their way of life. Their previous residence was a peaceful New Mexico neighbourhood, a state famed for majestic skies and extreme weather.
Elizabeth and Ray are outgoing and social so being part of a community is important to them. They’re invested in both their local goings-on and what they can offer to others. Their house was designed to reflect this by being evolutive, changeable, and full of life – a place where friends and mezcal won’t ever be missing.
The interior was designed to be wide and adaptable to allow for future modifications.
Nuestro Sueño is a clay box containing coherent concrete structures, with the kitchen and central patio, just like an old colonial Oaxacan house downtown, representing the heart and soul. Folding steel bay windows transform the space, fading away the barrier between inside and outside, making flexible united rooms for coexistence. The interior was designed to be wide and adaptable, allowing for future modifications, the master bedroom designed to allow Elizabeth and Ray to wake with the sunrise. The interior also includes a sewing shop, wood shop, gallery, and cinema.
The exterior features a vegetable patch, and a brick clock in the central patio. Lighting through the concrete beams affords plenty of different views and perspectives with each change of season, and its core halls lead to the rooftop overlooking the incredible Sierra Madre Sur. But overall, Nuestro Sueño’s colourful and spacious design is intended to be a welcoming space for visitors, full of life, and one that will make them feel at home in Mexico.
