HW Studio
Exterior view of The Hill in Front of the Glen.
HW Studio
HW Studio
Interior view of The Hill in Front of the Glen.
HW Studio
HW Studio
HW Studio
HW Studio
HW Studio
HW Studio
HW Studio
HW Studio
HW Studio
HW Studio
HW Studio
HW Studio
HW Studio
HW Studio
In its resplendent residential architecture, Mexico’s HW Studio always seeks to envision the spirit of a place as much as the form of the shelter. The Hill in Front of the Glen, one of its first projects, seems as primordial as the mound of earth that shrouds it, and its roof is a concrete vault that evokes the feeling of being in a cave. Led by Rogelio Vallejo Bores, the firm embraces a deeper intention beyond delivering remarkable homes for its clients: “In a world where the relentless pace of modern life and the noise of urban environments often overwhelm us,” Bores explains, “architecture emerges as a powerful tool to create spaces that invite reflection, silence and an intimate connection with oneself.”
HW Studio’s projects on tight urban lots are no less enthralling — and they demonstrate that the power of architecture can also be
cultivated in small spaces. In Casa Emma, an infill on a modest plot measuring just four by 10 metres, the architects have conjured an intimate yet somehow expansive home, one inspired by two seemingly disparate points of departure: the Paula Rego Museum in Lisbon by Eduardo Souto de Moura and the form of a Purépecha granary. The open-plan main level features a living room, dining room and kitchen; a staircase at the back of the home leads up to the bedroom and bathroom on the mezzanine — a floating white volume that pops against the otherwise all-wood interior. The house exemplifies the firm’s eternal search for the essential. “We aim to achieve ‘sufficiency,’ crafting spaces where each element has purpose and meaning.”
Beyond Mexico, Bores has ambitions for housing designs in Alaska. In a speculative project inspired by the ancestral dwellings of Indigenous peoples, snow provides a protective embrace for a series of viewfinder-shaped abodes surrounded by gabion walls. The environment is starkly different but the design captures its spirit.
Mexico’s HW Studio always seeks to envision the spirit of a place as much as the form of the shelter.
