Project
Tiny Sea House

Category 
Best Project of Private Residence

About the project
Tiny Sea House (21m²) was designed to address two concerns in Playa del Carmen. The increase of Sargasso that is affecting the ecosystems of the area, and housing shortage due to population growth. Changes in the environment caused by global warming are accelerating the growth of Sargasso, that reaches the beaches of the city. Tiny Sea House is using bricks built from this seaweed. By recycling sargasso, new construction materials can be manufactured reducing the environmental impact of its construction.
The design, in addition to providing innovations in sustainability, encourages the use of endemic materials. The ceiling has an urban garden where users can harvest fruits and vegetables.
Bricks arrangement allows the passage of light. Furthermore, the interior of the house aims to make maximum space. Using two attached modules for services; while the main module contains the folding furniture, allowing the possibility of having different configurations of the space for residents.

Location
Playa del Carmen, Mexico

Project design year
2021

Extra visual materials (photos, videos etc.)
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Vefg8S1uH7EtfvbRK7K0VEvM4Eu5hqgM

Applicant and authors of the project
Maria Fernanda Nava Alarcón, Sarai Montiel Escandón: «We are architects, met at university and became thesis partners in 2015. Our lives are very different and what unites us is Architecture.
Sarai lives in Taipei, she has two master degrees; one in Architecture and Sustainability and the other one in Architecture. I (Maria) have been working for 4 years with Architecture, specialized as well on Interior Architecture in Mexico. We are passionate to discover new alternatives, involving the detail that goes with it.»

Status of the project
Conceptual design

 

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