La Pedrera
La Pedrera is the name of the building housing the clubhouse of the development known as Cola de Lagarto, located on the outskirts of Atlixco, in Puebla, about two hours from Mexico City. The project is set within the Tentzo mountain range, a semi-desert landscape primarily featuring acacias, yuccas, and wild grasses.
The design intentionally occupies a hill within the development, offering panoramic views of the golf courses, the imposing mountains marking the start of the range of the Atlixco valley, and the majestic Popocatepetl and Iztaccihuatl volcanoes. This privileged setting shapes the project’s layout, which responds with a circular plan, opening the building to its surroundings while also centering spaces for clubhouse activities such as a restaurant, leisure rooms, restrooms, and general amenities.
Conceptually, the project is organized through a series of concentric skins arranged around a central space, the heart of the site, featuring a reflecting pool. The exterior skin, the first point of visual and tactile contact for users, consists of curved walls built with locally sourced stone. These elements emerge from the varied topography, providing structural support to the platform that houses most of the architectural program and is situated at an elevation that allows part of the structure to be underground, leveraging the hillside’s natural slope.
The entire program is therefore resolved on the ground floor and underground level, with the roof slab serving as a 360-degree viewing deck that includes a multipurpose area for temporary events. An external perimeter corridor between the outer wall and the second ring acts as a balcony for the restaurant and as a service area for other private sections of the program. This ring, with a glazed facade, connects interior spaces with the surrounding landscape and optimizes natural light. Between the second glass skin and the third inner ring are spaces designated for specific programmatic needs.
Finally, the innermost ring consists of rotating wooden doors, allowing spaces to be as open or closed to the exterior as necessary. The heart of the building is framed by a large oculus in the concrete slab, through which landscape elements rise, subtly marking the structure's presence. A fundamental aspect of the building's concept was to maintain a scale that respects the surrounding context, along with materials that allow it to blend naturally with the environment. The regional stone, exposed concrete in the slabs, and walls finished with tepetate plaster (a local earth material) will age gracefully, blending the building into its natural context.
