Architecture firm PPAA has designed BAI-HA, an 18-apartment holiday resort in Tulum built from wood, washed concrete and stucco made from Mexican chukum.
BAI-HA spans three storeys and a rooftop with views of the jungle canopy and ocean. The resort is located in Aldea Zamá, southern Tulum, about 100 metres from the area’s main beachfront.
“The project is based on ideas of privacy and intimacy in a place that is directly related to nature,” PPAA told Dezeen.
“Neutral, clean and natural architecture leaves the richness of textures and shadows to the surrounding landscape.”
Six separate one-storey apartments are built on the ground floor, each with private access to its own swimming pool and gardens with towering palm trees.
The remaining 12 apartments are duplexes arranged over two upper levels. Each of these apartments has a private terrace and jacuzzi on BAI-HA’s rooftop, which is accessed through a public area on the third floor.
With this stacked formation, every apartment can enjoy the surrounding sprawling jungle at their visitors’ leisure while maintaining a sense of privacy.
“The design process was based on the idea of efficiency,” said PPAA.
BAI-HA was sparing with the material palette for the project. The apartments are constructed from three natural materials – wood, washed concrete and chukum stucco.
The chukum tree is native to the Yucatán Peninsula. Chukum stucco is made by boiling the bark and mixing it with cement.
Apart from their open gardens, apartments on the ground floor of BAI-HA are mainly concealed from street-view, as well as this level’s service units, staircases and bathrooms.
On the second floor, apartments are also mostly enclosed. Rooms that extend to the third floor are partially concealed by wooden louvres which protect against extreme weather. Delicate wooden frames also line the resort’s rooftop.
Tulum is renowned for architecture that celebrates traditional Mayan materials. Studio Arquitectos has designed residential apartments built from tzalam wood with polished chukum floors. Luum Temple is a bamboo yoga pavilion by local studio CO-LAB Design Office.
PPAA, or Pérez Palacios Arquitectos Asociados, was founded by Pablo Pérez Palacios in 2016. The firm recently designed a wooden-lattice-fronted boutique hotel in Mexico City.
Photography is by Rafael Gamo.
