Home > Home on the Hill: Las Rocas by Ignacio Urquiza Arquitectos Spells a Majestic Story of Minimalistic Architecture and Biophilic Design

Spaces

Home on the Hill: Las Rocas by Ignacio Urquiza Arquitectos Spells a Majestic Story of Minimalistic Architecture and Biophilic Design

An abode nestled in the rocky escapades of Mexico, Las Rocas is all about integrating nature into design, and transcending indoor/outdoor boundaries

Shirline Dias Andrades

January 3, 2025

Name of the project: Las Rocas
Location: Valle de Bravo, Estado de México, México
Plot Area: 34,445 sq ft, approximately
Date of completion: 2022
Architecture/Design Firm: Ignacio Urquiza Arquitectos
Principal Architects/ Lead Designers: Ignacio Urquiza, Ana Paula de Alba
Photographer: Onnis Luque

Las Rocas Home — The majestic spread of the fourth home’s living room captures an uninterrupted, linear view of the adjacent mountains. Image Credit: Onnis Luque

“The home should be the treasure chest of living.” quoted Le Corbusier. And what indeed pleasure would it be if this treasure chest of living was a home like this, mounted atop the beauty of these neighbouring paradises? A home is built to give warmth, refuge, and comfort, but a house like this one is built for more than just its mere essentiality. Surrounded by its palatial natural reserve and heightening glory, the Las Rocas home in Mexico is a space that defines spellbound art and design.

On the top of the hills, the Las Rocas homes find a soaring spot. Image Credit: Onnis Luque

An aerial view of house four captures the swimming pool cosily surrounded by the neighbouring vegetation. Image Credit: Onnis Luque

Huddle on the Hills

A complex of four houses, Las Rocas is located in La Peña, the northern part of Valle de Bravo. The picturesque area of Valle de Bravo provides an elevated terrain of outcrops and endemic vegetation, allowing the architecture to revolve around the tenets of environmental design seamlessly. Geographically, all these four homes are built close to one another, with two homes lying adjacent and sharing the same premise. Ana Paula de Alba and Ignacio Urquiza lead the design of these four homes and draft personalised spaces that accentuate the integration of architectural, biological, and lifestyle elements. “We wanted the house to be treated as an extension of the adjacent natural reserve, and the project seeks to respect and regenerate this environment.” quotes the team. In adherence to the site analysis conducted before the design, every house was accurately positioned to highlight the pathways, rocks, and surrounding vegetation. The rigid ideology of separating indoors and outdoors is reinterpreted to let the outside world inside, to live at one with nature. This is done by seeking natural light through windows, inviting fluidity without barriers, and incorporating light colour palettes to enhance the outdoors.

The team states, “The principal focus of the design was to create a dynamic system with different configurations to optimise compositions for each location.” All four houses were uniquely designed owing to their natural characteristics but utilised similar modules and elements. In these homes, a stone can be two things: either a part of the roof or a walkway to the entrance. Focusing on minimal materials like stone, the team brilliantly adapts architectural tactics to design all four homes.

HOUSE I, LAS ROCAS

From the outdoors, the facade of the first home showcases a minimal beige appearance. Several seating arrangements are placed for rejuvenation. Image Credit: Onnis Luque

The interiors here unfurl a neutral hue of browns. A railing secures the edge. Image Credit: Onnis Luque

Under the foot of a large tree trunk, a small seating arrangement is set up for relaxation. Image Credit: Onnis Luque

HOUSE II, LAS ROCAS

A narrow passage takes you to the interiors of the second home. Potted plants are observed at every corner. Image Credit: Onnis Luque

Las Rocas, Mexico — Interior steps leading to the inner corner. Image Credit: Onnis Luque

Upon entering, the home reveals seating with a fantastic view of the Valle de Bravo mountains. Image Credit: Onnis Luque

In this seating room, a minimalist palette of browns and greys is sought. The flooring is completed in textured stone. Image Credit: Onnis Luque

Another segment of the outdoor seating showcases cosy furniture with garden insets. Image Credit: Onnis Luque

Back to the interiors: a passageway leads up to the following part of the house. Image Credit: Onnis Luque

HOUSE III, LAS ROCAS

Still in furnishing, the layout of the third house at Las Rocas. Image Credit: Onnis Luque

HOUSE IV, LAS ROCAS

In focus: The fourth house at Las Rocas highlighting a partitioned frontage. Image Credit: Onnis Luque

Nestled in the vicinal beauty of the skies, mountains, and trees, the fourth home lights up as the sun shines. Image Credit: Onnis Luque

The exterior facade of the fourth house at Las Rocas. Surrounded by trees and terrain rocks, the entrance steps are constructed in stone to match the organic aesthetic. Image Credit: Onnis Luque

Another stone pathway takes us up to the fourth house at Las Rocas. Image Credit: Onnis Luque

As intended, the main focus of every seating arrangement is the undisturbed natural backdrop. Image Credit: Onnis Luque

In focus lies another outdoor seating. Image Credit: Onnis Luque

The living room extends to an alfresco-like seating. Image Credit: Onnis Luque

A rectangular coffee table is set up in the middle of the seating. Image Credit: Onnis Luque

A dining table is adjacent to the outdoor area. To achieve fluidity, open spaces without partitions are designed. Image Credit: Onnis Luque

A zoomed-in view of the dining set-up flaunts decorative chandeliers and six chairs. The dark brown colour palette is contrasted with subtle design elements. Image Credit: Onnis Luque

A sneak peek at the inner seating segments of the house. Image Credit: Onnis Luque

One portion of the house’s glass facade discloses the bedroom. The sunlight casts its rays upon this scene, rendering it an amber-gold glow. Image Credit: Onnis Luque

Even the bathroom is clasped in breathtaking views of the valley. Image Credit: Onnis Luque

A Soaring Spectacle of Biophilic Design

From living rooms to bathrooms, every area in every home is doused in natural light, allowing air circulation and gorgeous views into the interiors. This uninterrupted flow makes the adjacent trees and rocks integral to its camouflaging architecture: now you see it, now you don’t. The colour palette is mainly minimal and neutral, significantly using a light-grey stucco finish that matches the bordering rocks. Textured stone flooring is brilliantly incorporated to complement this raw finish. Glass is used primarily in facades and partitions to borrow natural sceneries and outdoor sunlight. An interesting play of volume and geometry is majorly witnessed in the interiors. Uniformed shapes and silhouettes are used at large—from external frontages to simple furniture pieces, calculative and quadrilateral structures like squares, circles, and rectangles are used. This fascinating juxtaposition brings an enjoyable break from the otherwise randomity of the vicinity’s uniformed terrains and trees.

Whether in the key area or the innermost section of the home, biophilia is the hero of the design story. The use of natural elements is not limited to the vicinal views. Trees are allowed inside and made to be part of the architecture, with several potted plants accommodating cosy spots throughout. All four homes are sectioned similarly: Living rooms, bedrooms, bathrooms, dining room, and a kitchen. The Las Rocas home also hosts unique spaces like outdoor seating, swimming pools, and a terrace.

This view from the fourth Las Rocas home is our author’s favourite. Image Credit: Onnis Luque

One would wonder if they would feel lost in these larger-than-life interiors and majestic structuring. However, the Las Rocas homes never fail to provide their inhabitants with an atmosphere of comfort and familiarity. The design team ensures this Mexican abode is filled with comfort and rejuvenation, breathing life into this creation without ridding the home of its homeliness. This home sets an unparalleled precedent for harmonising environmentalist architecture with personalised design. Without the risk of sounding too cliché, we all know home is where the heart is. And where else would the heart wander if it had a home like this?