Articles by Clara Ott

Located between Tepoztlán and Amatlán in the State of Morelos, the Hotel Tepoztlpán designed by the Carlos Marín and Pasquinel Studio Workshop Offices integrates the topography, the landscape and the views of the Tepozteco in a master plan where 4 buildings with different architectural programs explore the virtues of the site. The land was an abandoned plot, where wild vegetation, along with several medium and tall trees were located naturally on the site. From the beginning, this natural condition and respect for the flora of the site was a determining factor for positioning each of the volumes that comprise the project. Another condition that the terrain presents is its rugged topography, the access volume -a staple of pigmented concrete- is located at the foot of the sidewalk, and as we go deeper into the terrain we discover the 4 buildings, the terrain dictated the terrain and program of each of the buildings. The gentle ramps and staircases allow us to reach the pool area, which is -2.5m from the access level, while the room building makes the first forced stop for the user to the center of the land and to an altitude of – 1.20m.

Architecture is constantly changing and adapting to new needs, which are linked to social, economic, technological, political, and demographic changes. In this sense, the aging population is one of the most outstanding changes of the 21st century: The increase in life expectancy and the decrease in fertility rates mean that the older population is increasingly numerous. How can architecture help to provide a better quality of life, promote the autonomy, dignity, and well-being of the elderly?

Haus Koeris is a private home that is situated among tall pine trees on a lot near a lake in close proximity to Berlin. As a structure entirely made of wood, the building is elevated from the ground to minimise the impact on the land and to avoid contact with the seasonally damp soil. The irregular shape of the house stems from the position of existing trees. Five boxes are arranged in a staggered layout with the individual rooms overlapping each other allowing for connections between them. The shifts in the floor plan create small patios and green niches along the building‘s perimeter. Some of these alcoves are sheltered from wind or hidden from views, others capture the sun and thus create pleasant microclimates. The recesses give the residents various opportunities to use the exterior as inhabitable open air spaces in dialogue with the internal rooms, proposing a new relationship with nature where indoors and outdoors blend into each other.

Continuous process

This house is situated on a hill located on a kind of island that visually delimits the sea on all its fronts. In accordance with the requirements of the client, the location, and the environment, it was decided to use materials and technology from the zone. The typology of the barn was chosen as an architectural reference.

The project was developed on a narrow beachfront lot in the Sian Ka’an biosphere, near Tulum, in Quintana Roo and is fully powered by solar and wind energy. The entire project was cast in an organic blue color concrete, which reacts over time according to its exposure to the sun and its position in the house, creating tones that range from ocean blue to sunset pink.

Together with Rafael Moneo, Clara Moneo and Valerio Canals (Canals Moneo arquitectos) has expanded the Bodega Ribas, a winery in Consell, Mallorca, which, as part of the old Ca’n Ribas listed stately home from the 18th century has been preserved intact to date, with its original historic barrel cellar and winemaking warehouse.

The multiprogram ship was built as a logistic chain of events where construction phases were included as a part of them. Eventually, after years of frictions, transactions, and interaction, progressively and incrementally transformed into a complex social, performative, and environmental apparatus. The building is a Spatial apparatus that explores cultural occupation creating tactical regenerations and mobility strategies Iand t’s an alternative condition of temporality to activate hybrid public spaces in these complex geomorphological slums. The Project takes part in a series of interventions of cooperative urban reengineering, focusing on consolidating a network of sport, cultural spaces as new productive and formative urban models for the informal growth areas of Caracas. based on microsurgery operations upon the organic tissue. This urban device is coupled to the main mobility systems of the favela, building relationships along the dimension of the stair in flexible operative strata. The ship deploys diverse programs based on ground reengineering and also suspending aerial spaces using prefab systems by a series of modular metal frames.