Rain harvest house

Learn how, with the help of regenerative hydrology, it is possible to design a complex living system that allows water infiltration and returns it to its underground source, at Rain harvest house by Cosecha de Agua.

Two hours from Mexico City is the “Rain Harvest House” project, a residential lot within the Peñitas Reserve in Temascaltepec, Valle de Bravo. From the heights of the cliffs, one can view the Xinantécatl Volcano, the largest geographical feature of the watershed, which is the source of the region’s groundwater. Where are we located? Where does the water come from? How do the clouds and winds move in the watershed? How can we broaden our view of the territory?

In this project: Architecture and Landscape are one. A real and creative dialogue was established between the disciplines to position the built elements and design what unites them. We created a Comprehensive Landscape Master Plan that includes regenerative stages, scaling various interventions over time.

Primer boceto del plan maestro de paisaje / First sketch of the landscape´s master plan
Ilustración / Illustration: Helene Carlo

The “Rain Harvest House” project gave birth to the Cosecha de Agua studio and provided the opportunity for a more holistic vision. We designed a complex living system, from surface water harvesting to the possibility of infiltrating the water using forest technology, to return it to its underground source.

We arrived at compacted land, like most soils today, altered and eroded by intensive agricultural practices. Given these conditions, we considered that the greatest landscape intervention would be the intelligent arrangement of water infrastructure—water bodies, wetlands, catchment and infiltration trenches, pathways, organic matter, etc. The project was not about planting and creating conventional landscaping, but about working under the principles of “Regenerative Hydrology,” which aim for water to set the pace, using “hardscape” elements to create better conditions for life and the regeneration of the land.

Plan de dinámicas hidráulicas / Hydraulic dynamics plan
Ilustración / Illustration: Helene Carlo

We located the main water reservoir at the lowest point of the land, which is filled with the help of the trenches and pathways. This water body serves to supply irrigation during the dry season. We designed and implemented the landscape elements with the philosophy that “nothing enters and nothing leaves the project.” The earth that resulted from the construction work was used to create a large artificial slope to the south of the property, in order to retain as much water as possible for as long as possible.

Vista aérea del proyecto integral / Aerial view of the integrated project
Fotografía / Photography: Jaime Navarro

Regarding vegetation management, we allocated 70% of the land area as our source of organic matter, leaving it to undergo a natural regeneration process; the remaining 30% of the property was intensively intervened with construction, landscape infrastructure, and the productive zone. The intention behind this new approach was to establish a balance between the landscape functions in order to achieve systemic self-regulation.

Detalles de infraestructura del paisaje / Landscape infrastructure details
Ilustración / Illustration: Helene Carlo

The construction yard, the space that was opened up and damaged during the building process, was decided to be used as a laboratory area for regenerating and producing food. We arranged the leftover construction materials with the vision of creating traps to slow down the water flow and limit soil erosion. There, we designed and implemented a successional agroforestry system focused on vegetables to provide food for the family. This time, we started with an even more degraded soil, and with the help of water management, tree planting, and time, more fertile soils are being built, capable of sustaining complex and abundant life without the need for external inputs.

With the help of water management, tree planting, and time, more fertile soils are being built, capable of sustaining complex and abundant life without the need for external inputs.

El Humedal construido y el sistema agroforestal de La Casa de lluvia / The constructed wetland and the agroforestry system of La Casa de Lluvia
Fotografía / Photography: Jaime Navarro

For the past five years, since the first intervention on the site, we have observed that the water design and rainwater harvesting have accelerated the evolution of the living system. The plain transforms each rainy season into a more diverse meadow, where water has a greater capacity to express itself in the landscape, allowing the flora to become more abundant and the land to naturally revert to a forest, as it once was.