Casa de Toh Complete

On the last day of 2010 the house is now complete.  The “launch” of the house occurred on the 28th of December with a grand party and a presentation to Cecilia Sanchez for all her hard work turning an old ruin into a beautiful residence. Below are some “Before and After” photos showing the amazing transformation.

The main hallway at the beginning of the year.

The main hallway with entertainment centre and linen cupboards.

The main hallway looking towards the kitchen.

The main hallway looking towards the kitchen today.

The original backyard.

The backyard pool area.

The main bedroom.

The old bathroom

Ensuite bathroom

The Unfolding Facade

One of the delightful aspects of Merida’s historical centre is the simple facades of the homes lining the streets. And there’s  no clue to what might be behind those walls. Typically a very “ordinary” facade may contain an extraordinary home. The “face” to the street is also strictly controlled by INAH, the heritage organization that ensures Merida Centro retains it’s essential character.

When we submitted our plans to INAH, they stipulated that the facade must remain the same as the original design of the 1920′s. We did however, get approval to change the colour and decided to go with a sienna facade with white trim. Below is a quick photographic record of the facade renovation.

The original facade before renovation. (May 2010)

The old stucco is removed from the wall, revealing the stonework underneath. (June 2010)

A moisture sealer known as “Ferrofest” is applied to the wall. (July 2010)

The entire wall has the Ferrofest sealer applied.

A new concrete stucco is applied to the facade. (August 2010)

The stucco is completed. The concrete is given time to dry and it will then be ready for painting. (Sept 2010)

The completed facade in November 2010

Time and Design

One of the biggest learning curves in building a home in another country is adapting to different approaches and processes for building.

In Canada, labour is expensive, there is a rigid building code, and speed is of the essence. In fact, one company in Toronto boasts that they can add a second storey to your home in three days. With speedy construction, particularly with wood frame houses, there is little room for error and the design must be followed to an exacting degree.

In Mexico, however, the pace is a little slower and many decisions on construction are left until later stages. With inexpensive labour and the flexibility of concrete forms, it is possible to change the design mid-stream, if needed.  The slower pace works to the designer’s advantage, allowing them time to absorb the work and redirect changes as required.  There is a breathing space that enables a more organic approach to construction.  Build a little, stop and review, adjust as required and then move on to the next stage.

I have had a few discussions with Georges Foliot on this topic.  Georges is an Interior Designer (and regular commenter on this blog!) helping his friend in Japan construct a new home south of Tokyo.  Japan has a similar building approach as Canada where labour is expensive, there’s a lot of paperwork and speedy construction of is of the priority.

Georges commented on the differences between Mexico and Japan:

“What I find oddly ironic and really challenging is that, Mexico translates into a culture that is hugely creative and organic in building process and craftsmanship with constant natural surprises. Contrast this to Japan (whose history also holds a marvellous aesthetic of the past), today represents a culture of machine precision and exacting tolerances but holds these factors so rigorously that the softer lines of creativity gets starved out of the building process.”

That’s certainly been our experience working with Cecilia Sanchez and Jose Alvarez where we’ve been able to make changes along the way and had many wonderful surprises that has resulted in a more creative building process.

One of those surprises was the craftsmanship in stone that Georges mentioned.  Here’s one of our walls in the garden painstakingly put together stone by stone.

Another design change that occurred later in the building process was the addition of a skylight over the washbasin in the main bedroom.  It would not be possible on a three day timetable!

It seems that the fast pace is required everywhere these days, but perhaps at the expense of the creative process.

Thanks to Georges for his insightful comments.

Moving the Air

Like water or light, the air around us is often taken for granted. However, building a home in Merida means we’ve spent a lot of time thinking about three key areas of air;  its movement, its temperature and the amount of moisture it contains… and it’s no longer taken for granted!

In the initial design stages, Architect Cecilia Sanchez  started with the natural movement of air, capturing the afternoon and evening breezes and making them work throughout the house.  With no windows on the side of the house, cutting a hole in the roof  introduces two main breezes:  the air flows down through the indoor garden area and towards the front of the house, exiting through the front door transom or front window transom.  The second breeze goes through the main bedroom and out through the patio. Even in the early days of construction, everyone could immediately feel the difference to the house as the breeze was felt constantly throughout the day.

Air flow from the indoor garden.

If there is no natural breeze coming through the house, we have six overhead fans throughout the house.  The  Westinghouse Comet was chosen for its energy efficiency and placement of central light within the fan – reducing the cost of wiring ambient lighting and allowing us to control both the light and the fan speed with a remote control.

The Westinghouse Comet in action.

During the summer however, it may become necessary to use the air conditioners.  We have installed two LG air conditioners.  A 12,000 BTU cools the front bedroom while a second 24,000 BTU unit cools both the main bedroom and the kitchen.

An efficient air conditioner is just as much about drying the air as it is cooling the air.  Moisture not only creates mildew and mould but over time can weaken wall surfaces and cause other structural problems.  Natural breezes, fans and air conditioners help to keep the air moving and create a healthy home as well as a cool one.

Another stategy we have employed, is to create a space in the wall between the main bedroom and the kitchen.  Normally this area will be closed off with doors, however in hot weather the doors can be opened to create an “airconditioning zone.”  This “window” allows us to cool the kitchen using the bedroom’s air conditioner, saving on the cost of running another unit.

Air conditioning window between kitchen and bedroom (doors to be added).

Another issue with air is the number of mosquitos using it as the main highway to the house.  We have a double layer of mosquito screens throughout the house.  The terrace has a set of doors and if an intrepid “mosco” makes it past the first level of defence, they are once again faced with the dubious prospect of finding away around the doors pictured below.  So in a way, you can think of these doors as giant “air filters,” keeping nasty critters at bay.

Installation of mosquito screens.

A Walk Around the Block

Casa de Toh is located in the Santa Ana district to the north of Merida’s main square. When the Spanish first developed the city, they created a number of neighbourhoods around the central district which was reserved for the Spanish.  In the West Santiago and Santa Catarina was for the local Mayan domestic workers. Indigenous Mexicans from Central Mexico occupied San Cristobal to the South and to the North, Santa Ana was occupied by African slaves. Each district was anchored with its own church and park, providing a distinct character to the neighbourhood.

Santa Ana has a beautiful church built around 1725 and a bustling park with a small market, traditional Yucatecan cocina’s and fresh food stalls.  Inevitably, anyone looking for a stroll will find themselves in this delightful square.  Art galleries, restaurants, tourist shops can be found bordering the square along with some of the necessities of life such as a masseuse and organic coffee store!

Merida is a town of surprises and there’s always something to make you look twice such as the local pinata store.

As we are print-addicts, two of our favourite places are only a couple of blocks away – the  excellent AMATE books and the wonderful Merida English Language Library – the only library I know that has a cash bar with their evening events!

Merida’s famous conversation chairs can be found throughout the city including the park in Santa Ana.

The streets of Santa Ana are narrow and the sidewalks even narrower. There is a constant battle for space on the road and sometimes a game of “chicken” has predictable results.

A legacy from colonial times, rainwater goes into similar narrow drains.  Here’s a short video where we are approaching Santa Ana square during the September rainy season.

A Walk Through in September

At the end of September the house is ninety percent complete. Progress has been excellent and we are right on schedule

Here’s a site walk-through starting at the front room of the house, walking into the central area of the home, past the indoor garden into bedroom two. From there we inspect the rear bathroom, venture into the terrace and down the yard to the pool where you will see the laundry construction. The video ends at the backyard where you will the results of all the hardwork!

Steps to the Pool

We had a number of challenges in designing a pool for Casa de Toh.  The ground slopes downward about halfway down the back yard so it made sense to create a shallow end near the terrace and the deeper end towards the rear garden.  This strategy meant we could take advantage of the natural slope which required less digging through limestone.  We struck limestone about 8 inches below the topsoil and so less digging through rock the better!

The lot is only six metres wide, so a pool three metres wide is going to take up half the lot.  There is also an infinity line at one end, so a number of pipes and drainage issues also had to be sorted (an infinity line is a section of the pool with no apparent edge – the water appears to flow without end).

We chose Hydrotrol as a our main supplier for equipment and they have been very helpful in sorting out some of the logistics in construction. For example,  Hydrotrol recommended both a supply well and drainage well that goes down seventeen metres to the aquifer running underneath the city.  Using the aquifer under the city saves using the mains water for the pool – not only reducing cost but conserving the city water as well.

Here is a quick visual history of the construction:

The pool area before construction

The pool area is marked out for digging.

Using a jackhammer to remove the limestone.

Workers begin building the walls of the pool using the pieces of limestone that
were dug out of the ground. Reduce, reuse, recycle!

The completed walls of the pool.

The walls have the finishing stucco applied.

Drainage well is put in place.

Platforms and borders are now in place.

As always, your comments are welcome.

Naming Casa de Toh

The house has a strong nature theme, from the garden right through the house and so the starting point for a name was to choose something  that would reflect that theme.  We also wanted a name that was distinctly Yucatecan, yet easy to pronounce. Birds seemed a good place to start.

One of the most famous birds in the Yucatan is the Turquoise Browed Motmot. We have been lucky enough to see this bird in Dzibilchaltun and Uxmal and once seen it is never forgotten.  It’s colours are stunning, but the most distinctive feature is its two long tail feathers. It’s commonly known as the “tick tock” bird  as it swings its tail back and forth like a pendulum. And of course, the Mayan word for this bird is “Toh.”

Our land lot in Merida measures 6 metres by 70 metres and as you can see in the following picture, it’s almost exactly the scale of the Toh tail.  The most distinctive feature of the property is it’s length –  the same as the Toh bird.

Scale of the tail

Toh in T’ho
When the Spanish first arrived in the Yucatan they found a cultural centre with five pyramids that had been active for many centuries. The Mayan name for the “city of five hills” was T’ho (pronounced “hoe”) and even today, Mayans in the countryside will refer to Merida as “The Place of Five Temples”. Francisco de Montejo who led the first Spanish conquest in the area, was reminded of the roman ruins  in the Spanish city of Merida, hence the new name.  Unlike many other cultural centres in the area, T’ho was occupied and many historians believe this city to be the oldest continually occupied city in the Americas.

The full name of the house would then be Casa de Toh in T’ho.

And in the middle of summer, the house will be:

Hot Toh in T’ho!

First sighting of the Toh at Dzibilchaltun

Working with Small Spaces

With a rising population and housing shortages throughout the globe, future solutions are centered on smaller living spaces. Mexico is perhaps more acutely aware of these issues with a population of 111 million and one of the biggest cities in the world. Mexico is also stepping forward in this area and their architects are developing a reputation for both creative and realistic solutions to housing problems.

As the original Casa de Toh is approximately six metres  wide and ten metres long , we were also looking for creative solutions to space. We spent a lot of time talking with Architect Cecilia Sanchez and she came up with a number of ways to maximize the space within the house.

Removing Walls

The first strategy was simply to remove some walls to make the space bigger.  Originally the front room was enclosed. By creating a wardrobe at the entrance, we have created an open vestibule area yet allowing the bedroom to be easily closed off. Similarly the central area of the house had a wall removed, creating a bigger hallway and living area. The results can be seen below where the central area is taking shape.

The original layout of the home.

The new space takes shape.

Multi-function rooms
Old habits take a long time to fade and many people live their lives with a different room allocated for each activity in the day from eating, sleeping, relaxing, working and cooking. Others  of us live in homes that were designed for a lifestyle that existed 100 years ago. So the first step to redesigning the home in Merida was to make the spaces work harder and smarter. The prime example of the smart home is the one-room Mayan house where all activities occur and at night, a hammock is strung across the room where the family sleeps together.  We’re not there yet!

The climate means much of the day is spent outside and the patio takes on several roles. With the kitchen at the rear of the house, the patio can function as the dining room. With a good wireless Internet connection it also functions as an office during the day and the living room in the evening.

The main hallway works harder by doubling as the entertainment area. The TV, Internet and gaming consoles are located in the centre of the house, which allows easy access from anywhere. The front bedroom has a large bench and can function as an inside office and reception area for work related visits. By keeping the spaces as flexible as possible, we can do more with less.

Light
Houses in the Centro Historico district are largely built together and so windows are only available at the front and back of the house. The centre of the house is often quite dark.

Dark rooms feel small, so it is important to maximize light to make each room feel bigger. Cutting a large hole in the roof and creating an indoor garden immediately floods the interior of the  house with light. By adding extra windows on either side, the light continues to flow into the bedrooms and bath.

A two metre extension has been added to the back of the house and the new construction does not meet the original walls. A 10 cm gap creates an automatic shaft of light that not only floods the rooms with light but creates a dramatic contrast within the space. The extra light gives the feeling of being in a large home rather than a small one.

At night careful placement of ambient light and accent lights, also maximizes the sense of space.

Lighting is complemented by using white paint for the walls and any coloured feature walls are chosen with care.

Surface
Another way to increase the sense of space is to use light coloured surfaces. A cream coloured  tile has been used throughout the house to make the rooms seem larger. The large 60 x 60 square centimetre  format also  adds to the illusion of size.

60 x 60 cm cream coloured tile creates a greater sense of space.

Built in storage space

The house has a number of built-in modular style spaces, reducing clutter and minimizing the sense of the rooms being “filled.” Built-in spaces mean cabinets, shelving, small tables and other items of furniture are not required and we don’t have to buy as many things to furnish the house.

Architecture shapes the way we live our lives, how we interact with each other and the outside world. The challenges of working with a small house has  really brought these issues to the forefront and made us rethink what the word “lifestyle” actually means…

Mayans and the Sydney Opera House

The Yucatan is an area rich in architectural heritage and many people interested in the arts and architecture find their way to the City of Merida and begin exploring the area.

After the Second World War, one young Danish architect in particular made his way to the Yucatan and joined the archeological teams working at the Mayan sites of Uxmal and Chichen Itza. His name was Jorn Utzon and after working for many years on one of the new seven wonders of world, he wrote a short article on “Platforms and Plateaus” that would draw him international attention.

The Observatory at Chichen Itza

Inspired by the monumental architecture of the Mayans, he drew on their ideas of “the grand platform” and their creative use of internal space within the pyramids and entered a competition for the Sydney Opera House. He won the competition based on the way the central platform on Bennelong Point worked on so many levels. Utzon also drew upon ideas he saw the Mayans employ to create their central areas inside the pyramids. These concepts can be seen in  central concert spaces of the Opera House beneath the “sails.”

The Sydney Opera House

To get a sense of how sophisticated the Mayans were in their art and architecture, is to realize that not only is their work considered a wonder of the world, but another modern wonder on the other side of the world was created using some of their same ideas.  They still continue to inspire and influence art and architecture around the world and their legacy of outstanding masonry is still very much a part of the local culture.  Intricate wall decoration,   superb  stone sculpture and creative use of concrete can be seen everywhere in the Yucatan from ancient cities through to modern homes.

Interior space at Uxmal

Further Reading:
Platforms and Plateaus – Jorn Utzon
Embedded Emancipation: the field of Utzon’s platforms by Asgaard Anderson