Location: Itzimná, Mérida, Yucatán, México
Project size: 1,560 square feet
Program: To make use of a long and irregular infill lot, Mérida, Mexico–based FMT Estudio developed an unconventional approach when designing El Tirón. The architects “deconstructed” a traditional residence into a disaggregated, linear sequence of alternating interior and exterior rooms. With each successive volume, the spaces become more and more private.
Design Solution: As the architect contends, El Tirón “questions the need to have a single space as a living area” and “seeks to be in the most minimal way possible.” The first volume, closest to the street, houses a double-height studio fitted with its own kitchenette, dining area, and a lofted sleeping space. An adjacent outdoor corridor then leads to an open, sun-filled courtyard and pool.
Beyond this space, at the core of the plot, a large zapote tree stands in the center of an intimate courtyard, framed by a privacy wall, and provides covered passage into another of the house’s volumes—one accommodating a full kitchen. This is the social center of the house, given the client’s joy of cooking and entertaining.
After the kitchen, another outdoor space leads to a flexible volume that acts as a privacy buffer from the very last structure, tucked under the tree canopy at the rear of the property: a primary bedroom suite. The concept, says the architect, is based on “the permanence and fluidity of space.”
![El Tiron FMT Estudio](/ext/resources/*Featured%20Houses/January/El%20Tiron/El-Tiron-FMT-Estudio-1.webp)
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![El Tiron FMT Estudio](/ext/resources/*Featured%20Houses/January/El%20Tiron/El-Tiron-FMT-Estudio-2.webp)
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Photos © Zaickz Moz
Structure and Materials: A concrete frame structures the house’s many volumes, while stuccoed vibro-pressed blocks form the walls. Throughout, raw and exposed materials are balanced by more refined finishes, such as marble and polished concrete in the bathrooms. The foundation was constructed of hewn stone footings and a mix of cement, sand, and gravel that was precisely executed to avoid harming tree roots.
Additional Information
Completion date: January 2023
Site size: .074 acres
Total construction cost: Withheld
Client/Owner: Pedro Gamboa
![El Tiron FMT Estudio](/ext/resources/*Featured%20Houses/January/El%20Tiron/El-Tiron-FMT-Estudio-5.webp)
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![El Tiron FMT Estudio](/ext/resources/*Featured%20Houses/January/El%20Tiron/El-Tiron-FMT-Estudio-8.webp)
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![El Tiron FMT Estudio](/ext/resources/*Featured%20Houses/January/El%20Tiron/El-Tiron-FMT-Estudio-7.webp)
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![El Tiron FMT Estudio](/ext/resources/*Featured%20Houses/January/El%20Tiron/El-Tiron-FMT-Estudio-9.webp)
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![El Tiron FMT Estudio](/ext/resources/*Featured%20Houses/January/El%20Tiron/El-Tiron-FMT-Estudio-10.webp)
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Photos © Zaickz Moz
![El Tiron FMT Estudio](/ext/resources/*Featured%20Houses/January/El%20Tiron/El-Tiron_FMT-Estudio_Section-A.jpg)
![El Tiron FMT Estudio](/ext/resources/*Featured%20Houses/January/El%20Tiron/El-Tiron_FMT-Estudio_Section-BCDE.jpg)
![El Tiron FMT Estudio](/ext/resources/*Featured%20Houses/January/El%20Tiron/El-Tiron_FMT-Estudio_Floor-Plans.jpg)
Image courtesy FMT Estudio; click to enlarge
Credits
Architect
FMT Estudio
C. 84 512, Paseos de Pensiones
Mérida, Yucatán, México, 97219
+52 99 96 42 34 19
www.fmtestudio.com
Project team
Creative directors: Zaida Briceño Ramos, Orlando Franco Carrillo
Design lead: Natalia Barroso Osorio
Site supervisor: Diana Araujo Durán
Consultants
Surveyor: Armando Puc
General Contractor
CAMRSA
Photographers
Zaickz Moz (project photography), Diafragmas (before image)
Specifications
Exterior Cladding
Other cladding unique to this project: Polished concrete
Roofing
Elastomeric: Fester
Windows
Metal frame: Aluminum frames
Glazing
Glass: Clear glass
Doors
Metal doors: Custom-made iron door
Wood doors: Custom-made Tornillo wood doors
Sliding doors: Aluminum doors
Hardware
Locksets: Ashico
Closers: Ashico
Pulls: Ashico
Interior Finishes
Cabinetwork and custom woodwork: Yucarte (kitchen)
Paints and stains: Comex
Floor and wall tile: Interceramic tiles
Lighting
Interior ambient lighting: Boconcept, Soluciones Artesanales MX
Downlights: Magg
Exterior: magg
Furnishings
Chairs: Chimiyú
Tables: Chimiyú
Other furniture: M.A. Estudio
Plumbing
Fixtures: Helvex