Being the Mountain

Being the mountain

As most major cities confront housing shortages, areas available for new development are becoming scarce. Increasingly, new developments need to move farther from city centers to continue traditional models or rely on land that ordinarily would have been too challenging for conventionaldevelopment. This project, located on a Mexico City hillside at the site of a former landfill, attemptsto address the architectural problem of hillside multifamily development and urban connectivity simultaneously. By drawing inspiration from the steep stepwells of Rajasthan, the project fragments the hillside into small parks interconnected by a network of stairs. Four unique models of apartments are nestled strategically into the hillside to allow a seclusion of private homes while still allowing for adequate light and air.

Plan, Section, and Elevation

Each apartment layout responds to its specific relationship with the public surface of the project. As almost the entire exterior is public, these relationships between park space and the apartments are crucial to maintaining privacy. Paths are routed and parks are placed to discourage the public from approaching the apartments, and trees are placed to provide shade in the parks and shelter windows from the public gaze. Though the front elevation remains unbroken, each apartment has glazing on two sides and interior courtyards to allow crossbreeze and light.