The organic house of the Mexican architect Javier Senosiain is a marvel that knew how to capture environmental concerns… in the year 84 of the last century.
Building is not something new and neither is loving. But whenever we do it we do it with intensity, committing all our resources and our time. This is how it should be, although in our subconscious we know that, probably, everything we do will have had a before, done by someone better, and an after, to be done by someone more prepared. Of course, this knowledge should not dampen our drive, au contrarie, it should inspire us to study the classics.
And now that concern for the environment is so up to date, we should look back, to the recent past, and discover the wonderful architecture that many professionals have left us. For example, today we bring you to these pages a work of Mexican art, pure environmental engineering from its original conception, which is perfectly reflected in the name given to it by its creator: The Organic House.
The Organic House of Mexico
Its creator was the architect Javier Senosiain, who built it in 1984, taking peanut shells as a reference for its configuration. He did it with two generous oval-shaped spaces, semi-buried, but with strategically arranged openings to generate the necessary light inside.
The architect tells us who created the two spaces thinking about day and night, and the different activities we carry out.
The day and the night
The day is made up of a living room, dining room and kitchen; and the night for the bedroom, dressing room and bathroom. When you see the images you may think that the house is located in the middle of a park, inside an extensive ranch or on the hill of a mountain, but nothing could be further from the truth.
The house is located in a residential area on the outskirts of Mexico City, a place full of “classic” single-family homes.
Senosiain made this home for his personal use and enjoyment, seeking the sensation of entering the earth. Hence the house cannot be seen from the air, where only vegetation and some holes are visible. These holes belong to access doors and windows, and also some huge windows to enjoy the outside.
The sinuous curves of this Organic House have a lot to do with the trees that were on the site. The reason is that the artist respected its existence and, giving free rein to his imagination, he traced curves on paper, in a sinuous way, like a snake, seeking the south, to make the most of the sun, and sliding down the slope of the lot. Then he made models in plasticine (very common at the time)… and got to work.
The Organic House has no corners
As a result, there is not a single straight corner, nor a vertical or horizontal wall, in the entire property. So for the execution of this unique building, an equally unique material was needed. In reality, there was no problem, since the Mexican architect was knowledgeable about the history of architecture, and used one of the most fantastic and forgotten elements of construction: ferrocement.
Ferrocement is the subsequent phase of what we today call reinforced concrete structure: a chicken coop-type mesh embedded in cement and sand mortar. This mesh was perfect to adapt to the sinuous shapes of Senosiain’s new home; So the framework was made with two meshes braided together and then the cement was projected into them, molding it when finished.
An organic and waterproof house
The projected mortar compacts violently, acquiring resistance 30 percent higher than the initial ones (the architect explains to us in his synopsis of the work), making the 4 centimeters thick impregnable.
To finish guaranteeing its impermeability, it was coated with sprayed polyurethane, a layer of ¾ of an inch, almost two centimeters, this material forms an elastic membrane that is almost impassable for humidity.
The Organic House… and buried
Once the work was finished, it was covered with 20-25 centimeters of fertile soil, generating the garden that your eyes see, a slow-growing garden that protects the plastic membrane and allows you to walk over your house without imagining where you are. Here, with this, the architect was applying the principles of bioclimatic control, seeking a beneficial microclimate for human beings.
Thus, nature prevents the direct passage of solar rays, serves as a barrier for dust and noise, cools the environment, by evaporating water and maintaining high humidity, it produces conductive cooling. In other words, the sun and the earth work in unison to keep the interior of the home comfortable.
Light despite the earth
Despite being underground, this building is very well lit. First because the orientation of the windows was forced to the south, to have more heat in winter; and second because the unconventional (you could say organic) shape of the windows provides more light than a conventional one-way window.
These aerodynamic shapes, and their location, allow the windows to not only take advantage of more light, but also more ventilation, providing the home with excellent air circulation.
Energy efficiency of the 80s
The wonderful home of Senosiain takes advantage of the goodness of the earth, which keeps temperature deviations more subdued. As in the cave houses, the Organic House maintains a less abrupt variation in temperature, in winter and summer.
This house is, for all intents and purposes, an example of energy efficiency in 1984, no more, no less. In addition, a style that remembers the best of human beings: the search for comfort with the most versatile tools, innovation based on the use of inherited knowledge.