Hoteliers have always understood that high-level architecture attracts good customers. Casona Sforza, a spectacular arched hotel, has opened its doors in Mexico.
Mexico is a dream place, there is no doubt. A corner of the world with its own identity, both in terms of the human race and geographically. Its location and morphology make it one of the most popular nations in the world. So much so, that last year, disastrous for life and for international tourism, Mexico was the third most visited country in the world.
Obviously, this fact is due to the pandemic caused by Covid-19, but in 2018 and 2019, Mexico ranked sixth and seventh on this list of most visited countries, so tourism is a very important sector for the economy. of the Aztec nation. This fact probably prompted the founder of the hotel we are showing you today to visit Puerto Escondido, a wonderful setting facing the Pacific Ocean.
Casona Sforza, a hotel with its own identity
The founder, who goes by the name of Ezequiel Ayarza Sforza, did not create the hotel for his own benefit, but to help the local community. The idea, which we have already seen in another hotel far away from here, is to generate income to supply artisans, farmers and other trades in the region, with the aim of safeguarding the traditions that have been passed down from generation to generation and that, with progress, were about to disappear.
The Casona Sforza boutique hotel opened its doors in December 2020. In it, the products made in the area represent the greatest attraction. For example, we find handmade cups, where coffee from Mexican plantations is served, or products from the land in the restaurant. Everything, created by the entity called Pueblo del Sol, whose altruistic intentions you can see on its website.
The design is based on forms as simple as the sphere
For the design of the hotel, they hired the architect Alberto Kalach, founder of the Tax Architects studio, who got down to work to make the developer’s dreams come true. They shaped it for a few years, with sketches, meetings and interdisciplinary talks, until the hotel complex you see in the images came out of it. A hotel with a design based on simple and durable forms.
Of course, these shapes are the ones that emanate from the figure that best transmits the efforts, the sphere. The circle comes out of it, like the one that contains the hotel pool, with steps that go into it forming smaller and deeper circles, the scene is great. A section of the circle, the arch, is an indispensable part of Kalach’s design, creating with it longitudinal vaults as roofs for the complex.
Brick a basic and sustainable material
To execute it, there could be no other better material than brick, an element without which the history of construction cannot be understood, as unique as it is neat, as effective as it is simple. Brick is the best tool for building efficiently, ecologically and sustainably, given that its manufacturing techniques are well known: firing volumes of clay enclosed in a parallelepiped shape that is easy to handle.
The bricks, made locally, prevent heat from entering, keeping the temporary residences cool. The tubular shape, with practicable ends, also helps in this regard, avoiding energy consumption and air conditioning noise. The bricks have been made with a pale yellow tone, capable of reflecting sunlight, preventing the accumulation of heat.
The hotel has 11 suites with views of the Pacific Ocean
Within these walls are 11 guest suites, a bar, and a restaurant, all spanning 4,500 square meters and facing the ocean. Of course, the integration in the environment was one of the basic requirements of the project, for this reason, the height of the hotel only reaches three floors in some points, adapting to the terrain, to create the interior viewpoints.
The elongated floor plan of the buildings comes to life as it is staggered in different volumes and heights, in addition, the vaulted shape, which allows loads to be transmitted along the walls, also offers a guarantee of anti-seismic resistance. A detail that, according to the owner and technician, also contributes to the flow of energy and positive thoughts.
The interior furnishings are indigenous to the area
Of the 11 suites, six are on the top floor and five on the ground floor, the former having the allure of views and the latter the possibility of a private pool. Another company that has something to say is the one in charge of the interior design: MOB Studio. They are responsible for the bohemian feel and earth tone colors that permeate the hotel.
They used designs from their harvest so that artisans from the area executed the furniture, pavements, lamps, etc. with tropical woods and local materials. Nothing you see in this hotel you can see in another property. Carpets from Teotitlán, palm leaf lamps from Veracruz, or chairs and hammocks from Yucatán await us if we dare to visit them.
A hotel that helps preserve Mexican culture
Even in the bathrooms, craftsmanship is breathed, where the furniture seems to have been sculpted on site, with beautiful bathtubs and wide spaces, wooden windows and overlapping sinks forming part of its base. Reinforced concrete and wood beams help the structural system, while breaking the volumes, creating an interesting play of light and shadow, a game that continues with the exterior pergolas.
In the end, the hotel seems to fulfill its primary intention: to contribute to the sustenance of the population of the area, integrating itself into the surrounding environment in a unique and spectacular way. In addition, the hotel has an exquisite style capable of attracting the attention of the most demanding.
*Photographs Alex Krotkov.