- Project: House in Tres Rios
- Architect: César Béjar Studio
- Location: Mexico, Culiacán Rosales, Sinaloa
- Year: 2020
- Area: 330 m2
- Photography: César Béjar Studio
A Bold Minimalist Block in Urban Context
In the dense urban fabric of Culiacán, the House in Tres Rios emerges not by size or ornamentation but by the strength of its ideas. Designed by César Béjar Studio, this 330 m² residence is sited on a narrow, elongated plot between party walls. Here architecture becomes a statement of presence and restraint—an apparently monolithic volume that shelters life, light and outdoor space within.
Rather than seeking to dominate, the house opts for silent assertion: a bold pink-rendered block that floats above the street, yet recedes in its context. Its colour, shape and texture contrast its neighbours yet the design logic remains subtle: calm geometry, carefully choreographed light, and the creation of inner life.
Concept – Monochrome, Void & Patio
The guiding strategy for the project is simplicity itself: “be the simplest house in the neighbourhood.” Within this intention lies a rich architectural complexity. The volume occupies the width of the lot, yet internally is pierced by patios and voids that allow welcome spatial relief.
The house uses two major devices: a deep horizontal slit window combined with a zenith opening. These openings, aligned toward a common point, act like twin eyes looking outward—directing view, controlling sun-path and sculpting the interior light. By combining the two, the architecture regulates openness and protection at once.
All major spaces—living, dining, kitchen, bedrooms—face inward toward courtyards. Externally, the house turns its back to the urban condition; internally, it breathes freely through light shafts, coloured walls and shifted shadows. The design turns constraint into opportunity.
Spatial Flow & Volume
From the street level, the visitor enters beneath a floating upper volume, enters a forecourt that doubles as parking, and then proceeds into the heart of the house. The longitudinality of the plan is celebrated: long vistas, double-height zones, and patios carved out of the mass ensure that even a narrow site feels expansive.
The ground floor houses communal areas; upper floors accommodate private spaces. A double-height living space links levels visually and atmospherically. The connection to the courtyards and altitude changes fosters a sense of vertical freedom despite horizontal constraints.
In effect: the building becomes a journey—from outside to inside, from compressed to open, from daylight to stillness.
Material & Colour Strategy
What makes the House in Tres Rios distinctive is its colour and material discipline. The exterior is finished in a strong pink tone—bold yet unadorned. This chromatic choice gives the project a signature identity, but the rest of the house remains stoically neutral, allowing colour to be the architecture’s gesture rather than ornament.
Internally, surfaces are blank and calm—white walls, minimal texture. This calm lets light and coloured reflections (from the pink patios and small blue-tinted windows) animate the space rather than heavy materials. The result: a warm, quiet ambience, changed by time of day and light conditions.
Light, Patio & Atmosphere
Patios play a central role. Internal courtyards create intimate outdoor rooms, filter light and shape climate. The pink surfaces of the patios bounce light into the interiors, infusing them with soft hues that shift through morning, afternoon and evening. Windows and skylights, tuned to orientation, push daylight deeper into the home.
The interplay of pink walls, yellow overhead light and neutral interior surfaces produces a subtle colour modulation—a spatial choreography of light and mood. Small blue windows further modulate tone, introducing calm punctuations that complement warmth.
In an urban environment, this nuanced treatment of light becomes elevational: the architecture doesn’t just serve function; it crafts atmosphere.
Why this House Matters
-
Demonstrates how modern residential architecture can thrive on a narrow infill lot by using voids, patios and clever light control.
-
Shows how bold colour can be integrated thoughtfully into minimalist architecture—not for decoration, but as a structural design element.
-
Exemplifies how Mexican architecture continues its legacy of light, colour and material—from historic precedent to contemporary expression.
-
Offers a model for architects working in dense urban contexts: design for restraint, then amplify effect through light, colour and spatial sequence.
House in Tres Rios by César Béjar Studio is a quiet but powerful architectural gesture in a complex urban context. It is a house that spends little on spectacle but achieves richness through strategy—patio, light, colour, material within constraint. Here, architecture doesn’t scream for attention; it invites contemplation.
For professionals, clients and students of architecture alike, this house stands as a lesson: that quality often emerges from restraint, context-response and the intelligent use of light and void.
