Hot Palapa
A 1970s home in Careyes shows why the appeal of Mexican architecture has not cooled down.
photos by: Michael Gilbreath!
April 1, 2008
When Italian builder Gian Franco Brignone bought eight miles of coastal property in Mexico in the 1960s, there was not much around. The secluded area was located two and a half hours south of Puerto Vallarta and one hour north of Manzanillo—and no roads linked the towns. It is rumored that after Brignone developed the famed Costa Careyes resort on the property in the early 1970s, one guest had to drive several miles to a tiny hamlet on the coast, where she waited in line with Henry Kissinger to make a telephone call.Today, despite the arrival of a Robert Trent Jones Jr. golf course, Moët & Chandon–sponsored polo matches, and even telephone service, the resort has maintained an inaccessible, bare-bones chicness. It is exactly this sort of Mexican charm that has attracted the jet-set crowd for years, becoming a haven for the likes of Gianni Agnelli, Sir James Goldsmith, Giorgio Armani, Francis Ford Coppola, and countless others. It also seduced a visiting Swiss industrialist, who purchased one of the resort’s original lots and later commissioned Mexican architect Marco Aldaco to build a home.
In many ways, the home, built in 1978 and called Casa Maoritze,
expands upon the eccentric enterprise Brignone envisioned for Costa Careyes,
while keeping with the owner’s wish that it be an enclave for creative,
well-heeled stylemakers to commune with nature. Though Aldaco is a disciple of
Luis Barragán, a pioneer of contemporary Mexican design who favored
geometric severity, his style is decidedly more organic and free form. It
takes a more spontaneous and less formal design approach, making liberal use of
hot tropical colors and stucco construction. Known for this quintessentially
Mexican palapa style, Aldaco’s designs have a quality that seems to spring
from the landscape.
"He has incredible ideas. He walks around with a stick and
draws out his design plans in the dirt while reviewing the terrain. Of course,
when it rains you lose your plans and construction stops," jokes the homeowner
of Casa Maoritze. "Sometimes I felt like I didn’t know where he was going."
The client had enough faith in Aldaco’s philosophies to go
somewhat blindly into the project. The architect, who today runs a minimally
staffed Guadalajara office, says that it is essential "to orient ourselves to
nature, creating open or partially open spaces so one never loses the sense of
the outdoors—the views, the breezes, the sun, and so on." Casa Maoritze also
exhibits Aldaco’s predilection for simple building techniques and locally
handcrafted touches. "The materials are indigenous and the methods of
construction are traditional," says Aldaco. "It is important to us to use local
workers, as well as stone, clay, and tropical woods." The home is crowned with a
thatched palapa roof and includes thick indigenous tree trunks for support
columns. Dressing the open, airy rooms are locally made metalwork, ceramics,
weavings, furnishings, and murals of mythic Mexican imagery painted by
Aldaco.
With gardens integrated into the architecture, the
three-bedroom Casa Maoritze can be rented for $3,000 a night, or for $7,000
a night with the larger adjacent four-bedroom Casa Triton, which Aldaco built in
2004. "Aldaco says Casa Maoritze is the best house he’s ever made," says the
owner, who considers the architect to be a good friend. "It’s a very
human house."