Casa Mexicana

Wallpaper* editor Bell (Carchitecture) offers an opulent survey of homes that showcase Mexico as a “country of contrasts.” His tour of the nation’s “massive range of architectural ambition” is divided into four sections. The first covers creative spaces, including artist studios and residencies like the Casa Wabi arts complex in Oaxaca, which mixes concrete with traditional palapa roofing, and the remote Casa Terreno, a self-sufficient artists’ home that aims to make a statement about “raw nature and the ways in which to artificially control it.” The next section, on experimental structures, features a “puzzle-like” apartment building east of Mexico City, a house inspired by “the feeling of pulling up a bedsheet around oneself for security,” and an eye-catching cube-shaped home. The seaside houses in the “architectural retreats” section include a home built on a land reserve with sea and jungle views and a stunning eco-friendly oceanfront resort. The final section highlights functional family houses, including a super-modern structure and a ranch-style abode. Common attributes run throughout—many of the projects mix wood and concrete, emphasize a dissolved border between indoors and outdoors, and feature brutalist vibes, and the concept sketches and site plans that accompany each home are a nice touch. It adds up to a transportive study in luxury. (June)