Casa Ajau / Nutum Estudio

Architects: Nutum Estudio
Area: 170 m²
Year: 2023
Photography: Manolo R. Solis
Project Team: Pablo Jose Rivero Vallado, Sarar Ferrer Inaebnit, Josep Azuara Robles
City: Mérida
Country: Mexico

Casa Ajau, a residential building designed by Nutum Estudio in Mérida, embraces traditional Mayan architectural elements and materials to honor the historical landscape of the MAYAB. Completed in 2023, the project transformed a former garage into a space for humans, plants, and fauna, incorporating features like cross ventilation, intimate patios, and traditional materials such as chukum and Tzalam.

Casa Ajau welcomes visitors with graffiti on the metal advertisement, a remnant from when the plot served as a garage. The concrete slab, initially meant for cars, was lifted to create a space for humans, plants, and fauna.

Located in between party walls on the edge of Mérida’s center, the house had to fit harmoniously with its neighbors while evoking the cultural context of the MAYAB.

Traditional materials like chukum for finishes and Tzalam for carpentry were used to reclaim and honor the historical landscape. The great arch of the Governor’s palace in Uxmal was adapted to reflect Mayan architectural styles, serving both poetic and political purposes. this adaptation aims to reclaim forgotten forms without erasing the colonial artistic past.

The narrow, long plot led to the house being divided into three volumes with four patios in between, allowing cross ventilation and a sense of continuous growth. The first two volumes contain the common areas. The kitchen/dining room opens onto a patio with a pool, and the second volume, within the large arch, serves as a saloon.

This space can transform into a cinema with a projector, catering to modern social activities like series marathons.

The rooms are located in the most intimate part of the house, at the bottom of the plot and on the upper floor, facing patios filled with yellow flowers from the planted jabin trees. vegetation acts as an architectural element, providing privacy and protection from the tropical sun.