Casa Ceiba
A 240 m² house woven through the canopy of a protected ceiba grove, cooled entirely by cross-ventilation and shade, with no mechanical air conditioning and no cleared trees.
The brief asked for a family home that didn't require cutting a single mature tree on the 1,800 m² lot. NAPP surveyed all 31 trees on site before drawing a single wall, then let their canopy and root structures dictate the building's footprint: a raised, perforated concrete platform that steps between trunks rather than around them.
Cross-ventilation was modeled before the first sketch: prevailing easterly breezes from the Caribbean move freely through louvered facades and a central breezeway, eliminating the need for air conditioning even in peak summer humidity. A 9,000-liter cistern collects rainwater from the butterfly roof, supplying irrigation and grey-water needs for the dry season.
Material logic
Walls are local quarried stone and board-formed concrete left exposed, with no paint and no synthetic finishes to off-gas or degrade in the humidity. Structural timber is FSC-certified tzalam, sourced from a community forestry cooperative two hours from the site, supporting regional forest management economics rather than imported hardwood.
