- Project: Casa Once
- Architect: Espacio 18 Arquitectura
- Location: Mexico, Puebla City
- Year: 2018
- Area: 249 m2
- Photography: Lorena Darquea
Tailor-Made Urban Retreat
In the rapidly evolving residential sectors of Puebla City, the Casa Once project embodies how architecture can respond intelligently to constrained plots without compromising spatial generosity. Designed by Espacio 18 Arquitectura and Cueto Arquitectura, the home sits on a roughly 150 m² site inside a single-family housing development, where land pressures demand tighter layouts and stricter regulation.
Rather than capitulate to a compact box, the architects proposed a refined “I-shaped” plan achieved by strategic subtraction of programme. This linear configuration allows both natural light penetration and cross-ventilation, while introducing internal courtyards that bring greenery and surprise into every zone of the house.
Spatial Organisation & Experience
The three-level layout is carefully sequenced:
-
On the ground floor, social zones — living, dining, open kitchen — open directly onto internal patios through full-height glazed screens, effectively expanding the sense of space into outdoor-inspired courtyards.
-
On the first level, private bedrooms look out onto the sky and towards an Acacia tree planted in one of the courtyards — this tree becomes a visual anchor, blooming purple in spring and reinforcing the connection between interior and nature.
-
On the second level, an entertainment area, service spaces and a roof-garden complete the composition, offering panoramic views of surrounding volcanoes from this elevated vantage.
The street-facing façade adopts a guarded posture: minimal openings, deep recessed profiles, and an emphasis on living “within the walls”, rather than outwardly projecting. The result is a calm inward-looking retreat that still opens up richly towards internal green spaces.
Materiality, Tactility & Identity
Material choices here do more than perform — they express. The façade materiality responds to the housing development’s construction regulations: natural wood and pigmented black stucco define an exterior that is deliberately composed and restrained.
Inside, the architecture layers warmth and texture: engineered wood floors, carpentry, exposed beams — these tactile elements provide sensory depth through smell, touch and sound. In the bathrooms, tiles by Oaxacan artist Francisco Toledo bring an unexpected artistic dimension, tying craftsmanship to home-making.
The courtyards and green views from every level ensure that despite its modest footprint, the home feels expansive. The subtraction-driven form, the internal voids and the controlled daylight strategy create spatial generosity without excessive volume.
Why Casa Once Matters
In the age of residential infill and escalating land costs, Casa Once shows how ingenuity can transform constraint into opportunity. Key lessons include:
-
Plan by subtraction rather than addition, enabling light, air and visual connectivity even on narrow or regulated sites.
-
Courtyards and voids used as spatial amplifiers rather than peripheral extras, ensuring each room connects to green space or sky.
-
Material restraint paired with tactility, balancing regulatory obligations with high-quality lived experience.
-
Contextual posture, where the home remains protected from street noise and development pressure, yet opens richly inwardly towards private gardens.
Architects and clients working in similar urban or suburban contexts will find in Casa Once a compelling study in how to deliver quality without resorting to oversized footprints or forms.
Final Reflection
Casa Once by Espacio 18 Arquitectura + Cueto Arquitectura is a quiet masterpiece of modern residential architecture in Puebla. It privileges depth over spectacle, quality over sprawl, and internal life over outward show. For anyone exploring housing design in constrained infill, regulated developments or fast-growing urban zones, this project offers a refined blueprint: calm, connected, crafted.
