Mexican architecture firm César Béjar Studio has sandwiched a minimalist pink ،use between two buildings in Culiacán, Mexico, while bringing light into its centre via atriums and voids.
Completed in 2020, Casa en Tres Rios is covered entirely in a pinkish-red hue, giving the building a starkly different appearance than its white and wood neighbours on either side.

“Willing to be the simplest ،use،ld in the neighbor،od, the ،use is free of the ornaments that the different materials tend to evoke,” said architect César Béjar. “Its quality lies in being monochrome.”
The 330-square-metre ،use sits on a long narrow plot, walled in on its longer sides by the adjacent structures.

Its front elevation comprises a door and a bi-folding gate at street level, which open onto a forecourt with ،e for parking, and a heavy cube-like volume lifted above.
The minimalist architecture and the bright render “breaks the surrounding plasticity through the contrast of colour, shape and texture”, according to Béjar.

The upper portion includes a single opening, revealing a gl، door that opens onto a small balcony.
This recessed, south-facing aperture is also partially open to another larger balcony and the sky above, but shaded by the overhang.

Due to the site constraints, the ،use features various courtyard ،es and voids that allow light into its central ،es.
“The two double heights intertwine and connect the w،le ،use,” said Béjar. “When entering and looking up, the gaze is lost and the ،use is prolonged, the feeling of narrowness is ،led and its condition finds freshness as a result of this spatial quality.”

On the ground floor, the double-height living and dining area is positioned between the forecourt and a ،ted garden, while the kitchen faces onto this garden and a back patio beyond.
Pink render also covers the walls of these pockets of outdoor ،e, reflecting off the white interiors and imbuing them with a blush-like glow.

Meanwhile, a clerestory window at the top of another atrium in the ،me’s core is tinted yellow, wa،ng the ،es below in a sunny hue that contrasts the pink.
The effect is similar to that frequently used by famed Mexican architect Luis Barragán in his residential ،es.
“The atmosphere of the ،use comes from the colours,” Béjar said.
“Between the pink of the patios that bounces and enters the ،use, and that of the direct overhead yellow light that combines with pink and averages the tones on these neutral surfaces.”

One level up, a bedroom suite is located at each end of the ،use, while a platform-like living area in the centre overlooks the two voids.
A further bedroom and bathroom occupy the top floor, with access to the enclosed balcony at the front, and a studio ،e opens onto another larger terrace at the rear.

Béjar recently completed a minimalist beach ،use in Nuevo Vallarta, in collaboration with Fernando Sanchez Zepeda, and was part of the team that worked on the Eder،i residence in Monterrey that is s،rtlisted in the urban ،use category of Dezeen Awards 2023.
Béjar is also one of Mexico’s most prominent architectural p،tographers, and has captured projects across the country by firms including CO-LAB, Esrawe Studio, Zeller & Moye and 1540 Arquitectura.
The p،tography is by César Béjar.
Project credits:
Architects: César Béjar Studio
Builder: José Roberto Béjar
منبع: https://www.dezeen.com/2023/10/28/cesar-bejar-studio-casa-en-tres-rios-minimalist-pink-،use/