Casa Aguacates
Casa Aguacates
(Valle de Bravo, Mexico)
Designed by Francisco Pardo
Casa Aguacates (“Avocado House”) is a partly underground weekend retreat located in Valle de Bravo, a rural lake town in Mexico. It was designed by architect Francisco Pardo on a sloping avocado field that leads into a forest. The client wanted the home to have a view of the forest, while keeping the avocado field intact, which led to the decision to bury the house into the slope.
The design is one full of contrasts, not just above- and underground, but also of materials with salvaged pine and natural stucco from the Yucatán region juxtaposed with concrete. Pardo goes on to describe the contrasts, "on one side, a view of untamed greenery; on the opposite, a domesticated landscape. Thus, the project exists between two realities, functioning as a subtle expression of architecture's ability to exercise control over — and coexist in pleasant tension with — its natural surroundings."
I like that phrase - “pleasant tension”. To make your mark on the natural landscape is to inevitably invite some manner of tension, no matter how natural and holistic the design. Of course digging into a field and pouring concrete into the ground is not exactly a peaceful co-existence with nature, but I still love the end result. The intended minimal impact on the landscape is most obvious from the top down view, which the client called “the fifth facade”, a result of their love for hang gliding.
To be honest my first thought on seeing a part-buried home was Tolkien’s Shire with its hobbit-holes which were built into hillsides and banks. The Shire was an idealized version of rural England from Tolkien’s childhood, with commentators arguing that the scouring of the Shire by Saruman’s forces was an allegory for Britain after World War Two. The thought of an idealized England has been on my mind a lot lately, especially with the recent Royal funeral, which seemed to be a moment of collective nationhood and (re)writing of history.
I have never felt like an Englishman. I am first and foremost a Londoner, not least because I was born, raised, educated, work and pay taxes in London. My skin colour means that once I leave the multicultural city environs I tend to be rather abruptly reminded that some people will never view me as fully belonging to this country. Institutions such as the Royal Family strike me as outdated remnants of a colonial past that should be resigned to history, however it is impossible to deny their importance in the formation of collective national identity.
Collective identity requires a shared interpretation of events and experiences that have formed that group over time. National museums are for example spaces for collective remembering that allow history to be continually rewritten and reinterpreted. But it is not a process limited solely to formal institutions. It can happen on a wider cultural level. Of course there are multiple narratives and history is not singular, but there will always be a dominant narrative that is usually accepted as fact.
In the UK, I think that national identity comes to the forefront in two main instances - anything related to sports and anything related to the Royal Family. Bring on the Olympics or World Cup and suddenly Union Jacks are flying everywhere and the winning sportsperson, regardless of skin colour or country of birth, is a national hero. Similarly, during the Platinum Jubilee and Royal funeral, there were Union Jacks and photos of the Queen everywhere. What is at other times odd to see, indeed seeing an England flag outside of an imminent sports fixture makes me uncomfortable enough to give it a wide berth, is suddenly given new pride and meaning.
For a short moment in time the nation seems to come together to experience an idealized and romantic interpretation of events and experiences, and once it is over, suddenly we are shunted back into reality. The Queen was somehow reduced to a skit with a CGI version of Paddington Bear and a marmalade sandwich. And now that the funeral is over, we are in the middle of a recession and a coming Winter in which many people will be making the difficult choice between “heating and eating”. That patriotism never lasts and that camaraderie, which was fragile at best, quickly vanishes. I find it both fascinating and absurd to watch.
Bit of a random post this week, but I hope you will not mind the meandering thoughts.
xxxx
