This Apartment Building Uses Passive Solar Design and Local Materials to Create a Cost-Effective Housing Solution

Designed by Mexico-based Reyes Rios + Larrain Studio of Architecture and Design for Mexican property development company LIVE, the Eugenia Wow Condos is a housing project with a high level of design and cost-benefit balance.

This balance translates into a rational and accessible cost of construction, reflected in a sale price below the market rate for the mid-level housing niche. The project is located in a private residential subdivision, mainly for medium-high level single family houses but also catering to high density lots for apartment and condominium developments with access to infrastructure, security control and common green areas.

The apartment building is specifically designed to foster a sense of community among its inhabitants featuring spaces of circulation, encounter and common amenities as part of the complex. The private space is of high quality for its architectural characteristics: an individual scale relationship and intimate proportions. Natural light is captured generously and cross ventilation is incorporated, with the consequent minimum requirement of air conditioning and artificial lighting.

The industrial materials in contrast to organic materials from the region retain their local character when mixed together, age with dignity and require minimal maintenance over time. This commercial architectural project comprises added value by offering all the benefits of quality of life offered by high-level design architecture.

The economic impact has been immediate and very positive judging by the increase in the surplus-value of the properties within the residential condominium as a whole and the immediate increase in surplus-value in the multifamily building itself. The social impact is also clear and has a positive role: a large sector of the middle/upper-middle-class population has had the opportunity to access two-bedroom apartments (ideal for young families, single senior citizens and foreigners, or for rent to students or professionals who temporarily move to Cancun), in conditions of safety and quality of life at a costs and purchase conditions below the average market prices.

More interior images courtesy Caribbean Realtors

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