Casa Cieno in Oaxaca Turns Inward, Away From the Sea

Casa Cieno, a concrete house by TAC Taller Alberto Calleja in Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca, turns its back on the Pacific and organizes itself around a single pool. The house occupies a 1,500 sqm plot in the El Vigía sector, and instead of orienting toward the water, it uses vegetation and controlled openings to establish a relationship with its surroundings.

The main volume is rotated diagonally in relation to the property boundaries. This move creates green patios along the perimeter that act as a vegetated buffer between the residence and neighboring properties. The resulting rectangular volume is organized around a central courtyard, with the pool serving as the main spatial and visual anchor of the house.

Program split by water

The design team at TAC Taller Alberto Calleja organizes the program around this central water element, separating the social and private areas. Paths that cross the pool lead to the two bedrooms. The courtyard connects the different spaces and creates a transition between them.

A circular opening in the roof slab frames the sky above the pool. According to the architects, it brings natural light into the interior and makes the passage of time visible throughout the day.

Materials chosen to age

The material palette combines exposed concrete and wood. The architects selected both in response to the climatic conditions of the Oaxacan coast, with the intention that they age with the site.

Above the house, a green roof extends the living space while restoring part of the vegetation the building footprint occupies. The rooftop also opens views toward the sea and the Oaxacan mountains. It contributes to the house's natural climate control.

Green patios surround the house and filter views of neighboring properties. Together with the planted roof, they form the project's core strategy: an inward-facing retreat on a coastal plot where the architects treated vegetation, water, and concrete as the connective tissue between architecture and landscape.

Photography is by César Belio.

Project information

• Name: Casa Cieno
• Architect: TAC Taller Alberto Calleja
• Location: Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca, Mexico
• Photographer: César Belio

The house signals how firms working on Mexico's southern coast are trading ocean-front orientation for thermal performance and privacy, using planted roofs and courtyards to mediate between dense residential plots and a harsh coastal climate.