Casa uno – Wild Landscape for Countryside House

Discover Casa Uno – Wild Landscape for a Countryside House by UPA Studio, a project that weaves together native vegetation, local materials, and stone art to create an immersive, resilient garden in dialogue with the natural surroundings of Atlixco.

For this project located in Atlixco, Puebla, we replicated the original aesthetic using native plants, favoring low maintenance and adaptability to the extreme conditions of this dry deciduous forest. We reforested the surroundings with eight flowering endemic trees; between them and existing groves, we laid out a perimeter walkway, winding around strategic highlights such as an endemic ceiba known as “pochota,” barrel cacti, and agaves.

Plan maestro / Master plan
Ilustración / Illustration: UPA Studio

Escalinata a cancha y andador / Stairs to court and path
Fotografía / Photography: Roberto Villarreal Llamazares

The flowering garden is a winding labyrinth with a breakfast area at its center, shaded by four gumbo-limbo trees that will form a vegetal pavilion, like a dome. In addition, 14 different species of salvias were planned, all drought-resistant and attractive to pollinators.

Plan maestro / Master plan
Ilustración / Illustration: UPA Studio

Additionally, grasslands and Rhodes grass were proposed to stabilize the slopes, while the rest of the garden beds are repetitive and evergreen. A terrace was built to reinforce the secondary access, along with stairways that continue the existing material palette. We consistently used sello de mar gravel as a unifying element, a permeable finish that reduces maintenance without compromising aesthetics.

Escalinata a cancha y andador / Stairs to court and path
Fotografía / Photography: Roberto Villarreal Llamazares

As a focal point in the landscape, we incorporated stone and rock elements as decorative and artistic features, creating a contemplative and immersive atmosphere. The design includes a collection of metates and carved stones; stone basins placed in the corners to generate humidity; solid black marble benches with a soft, contemporary design; and massive rocks unearthed during excavation, artistically intervened by Audino Díaz. One of these serves as a water basin, while the others function as large benches with rough cuts, arranged around a stone fire pit.

As a focal point in the landscape, we incorporated stone and rock elements as decorative and artistic features, creating a contemplative and immersive atmosphere.