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A Stacked Module House with a Perforated Facade

Designed by Fernando Velasco and Paola Morales, of Mexico City-based multi-disciplinary studio AS/D asociación de diseño, Casa Alta was built as a weekend house on a steep slope with majestic views of the valley. Situated on a 1,500 square meter plot of land, the structure is made up of 6m x 6m modules stacked on top of one another to make up three levels.

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With a challenging lot to work with, they needed to build up to accommodate 108 square meters (1162 square feet) of living space with an additional roof deck to enjoy the views.

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The exterior staircase that takes visitors from the outdoor platform to the entrance of the house is parallel to the land, the same as the interior stairs are.

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Each layer of the house presents different views of the surroundings, whether it’s from the windows or the outdoor spaces.

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A long rectangular pool sits lower on the property at its own level.

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The facade was inspired by digital pointillism and actually depicts a digitalized image of a tree that can be seen from a distance. Up close, it looks like a random pattern of circles.

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The house was designed as a vertical block with a stacked staircase connecting the floors. The lower level houses the kitchen and dining room, the middle or entry level has the living room, and the top level contains a bedroom and full bathroom.

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The interior is kept fairly neutral as not to compete with the lush landscape that is framed with the floor-to-ceiling windows.

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Photos by Rafael Gamo.

Caroline Williamson is Editor-in-Chief of Design Milk. She has a BFA in photography from SCAD and can usually be found searching for vintage wares, doing New York Times crossword puzzles in pen, or reworking playlists on Spotify.