Enso House II is a private residence located in San Miguel de Allende, a small city in Guanajuato, Mexico. Designed by HW Studio Arquitectos, the house is an inconspicuous stone dwelling, its quiet form drawing on a regional vernacular and blending with the natural, semiarid surroundings. The design of Enso House II is in keeping with HW studio’s approach to architecture, one that embraces silence and beauty, functionality and meaning.
In this project, HW Studio Arquitectos present a home that is an example of slow architecture, one that emphasizes sustainability and durability. In slow architecture, a building’s design works in harmony with the environment, utilizes durable and local materials, and values craftsmanship: these principles are visible in the development of Enso House II.
HW Studio began working on its design for Enso House II by conducting an element of historical research. The studio concluded that “there are few places in Mexico with a constructive identity as strong as Guanajuato.” This identity shines through its Mexican Baroque architecture, its aqueducts, and even its kitchen utensils, such as the handcrafted molcajete and tejolote (a mortar and pestle made of volcanic stone).
Guanajuato is an area of Mexico where the use of stone “is deeply rooted in any form of cultural expression,” says HW Studio. It is for this reason that the studio chose stone as a key building material for the Enso House II project: the stone was readily available nearby along with an experienced labor force.
With an area of 250 square meters (2,691 square feet), HW Studio organized the structure of the house on the basis of a cruciform plan: “The space is divided into four quadrants by a cross of stone alleys, defining the paths, framing [various] moments, and separating one quadrant from the other,” says the studio.
Each quadrant was assigned a "vocation" by HW Studio. The first quadrant welcomes inhabitants and guests: “it has the vocation of housing an endemic garden that reinforces, protects, and welcomes [people],”says the studio. Cars are parked in the second quadrant; during construction, any trees were carefully maintained and now provide shade, sheltering vehicles from the sun. A long stone wall protects the entrance and ensures privacy.
The one-bedroom residence sits in the third quadrant: “public spaces are separated from private spaces by a single volume containing bathrooms, a dressing room, and service area, breaking with the open floor plan,” says the studio. An office is housed in the fourth quadrant, its prominent vertical presence a sharp contrast to the site’s mainly horizontal arrangement. For HW Studio, the office building seeks to "flirt with the iconic volumes of the Santa Brígida Mine in Mineral de Pozos." The thermal mass of the home’s stone walls and the use of photovoltaic panels reduce the energy consumption of Enso House II.
The dispersion of spaces across the residence “forces a permanent pilgrimage” between each one; its residents “come into contact with the earth, the air, and the mountains, as if it were an ancient monastery, framing the landscape but at the same time forming a natural part of it,” says HW Studio.
