Casa More by Workshop: Design + Construction, sits within Mérida’s historic district and traces its origins to the 1940s, when Art Deco informed its proportions and details. A recent renovation restores and reshapes the house while introducing a terrace and a swimming pool at the center of the property. The project respects the building’s layered history and clarifies how different construction periods now work together as a single home adapted to the Yucatecan climate.
HOUSING
The plan organizes itself through a sequence of wings that reveal the house’s evolution over decades. The first two wings form the oldest sections of the property and retain their original mosaic tile floors and cedar doors. These spaces now accommodate the foyer, kitchen, study, and main bedroom. The floors draw attention through xocbichuy, or cross-stitch, floral patterns that add texture and rhythm underfoot. These elements ground the renovation in the material language of the original house while allowing contemporary use.
A third wing joined the property during the 1960s and now houses the main bathroom and service area after renovation. This same structure supports a new outdoor dining area that organizes daily life around the open air. Tropical gardens surround the space, which connects directly to the kitchen through a large window. On the opposite side, it opens toward the central patio and the newly added chukum pool.
The swimming pool introduces one of the project’s most distinctive interventions. Designers reused the original cistern, once dedicated to rainwater collection, and transformed it into an outdoor living area that appears to float above the water. This move preserves an existing element while assigning it a new social role. The pool occupies the center of the property and anchors circulation.
At the rear of the site, a structure from the 1980s completes the architectural sequence. The renovation reshaped its volume through the addition of cantilevers and a stone wall that creates a private patio for the bathroom. Material choices draw from earlier sections of the house, allowing this later addition to align visually with the older wings.
Throughout Casa More, the design responds directly to climate. Cool interiors offer relief from heat, while shaded outdoor areas extend living spaces beyond enclosed rooms. Hammocks hang beneath trees, gardens frame views, and water moderates temperature across the site.
Casa More now offers a setting attuned to Mérida’s climate and history. The house invites daily life to unfold across rooms, gardens, and water, connecting past construction with present use through careful reorganization and reuse.
Project: Casa More
Studio: Workshop, Diseño y Construcción
Team: Arch. Francisco Bernés Aranda, Arch. Fabián Gutiérrez Cetina, Arch. Isabel Bargas, Cicero, Ing. Alejandro Bargas Cicero
Location: Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico
Completion: September 2025
Covered Area: 140 m²
Interior Design: Workshop, Diseño y Construcción
Photography: Tamara Uribe
Art: Gabo Mendoza and Yesenia Lope
