Nicole Jewell, a design writer and Spanish translator, spreads the word on Hacienda San Jose Lavista, and calls it “a fairytale retreat in SMA”. Nicole’s articles and photos were published on Inhabitat.com, a weblog devoted to the future of design, tracking the innovations in technology, practices and materials that are pushing architecture and home design towards a smarter and more sustainable future.
Set in the hills overlooking San Miguel Allende, the striking Hacienda San Jose Lavista is a beautiful retreat surrounded by expansive vineyards, lakes, and fields of wild flowers.
Designed by architects Jose Seoane Castro and Pedro Urquiza to be a romantic getaway, the idyllic hotel pays respect to traditional building practices – including using adobe as the primary building material.
Set in the hills overlooking San Miguel Allende, the striking Hacienda San Jose Lavista is a beautiful retreat (Photo: Nicole Jewell)
Looking to colonial Mexican architecture for inspiration, Castro and Urquiza used traditional adobe as a primary building material.
Adobe allowed the architects to forgo common structural elements, instead creating 50-centimeter thick walls to support the building’s mass.
Castro and Urquiza reportedly designed the complex to be romantic retreat. In addition to the luxury suites, a picturesque chapel sits on a small pond, creating a picture-perfect setting for weddings or baptisms.
Hotel guests can also enjoy various interior and exterior patios, game rooms, a pool and plenty of private nooks that look out over the gardens. Multiple pieces of local art and traditional furniture were used in the hotel’s interior design – another nod to the area’s long artisan history.
Source: http://inhabitat.com/