This contemporary guest house, called Sisal House was inserted in an old patio for tending agave fibers within a nineteenth century Henequen hacienda. At 45 x 140 meters approximately, it is surrounded by high masonry walls dating from the end of the nineteenth century. The construction functions as an independent guest house for what was once the Casa de Máquinas de Hacienda San Antonio Sacchich, 35 kilometers away from Merida, Yucatan. The house consists of two bedrooms, two bathrooms, living room – dining room – kitchen, swimming pool and terraces totaling of 200 square meters. The design comprises a single volume offset into two planes, to which subtractions of various scales are applied in order to allow for air circulation on its four sides. The plan is organized from a single central place, which contains the living room and works as an adjustable space that can be transformed into a terrace and fully connect to its environment. Four independent sliding glass doors, each four meters wide, are hidden in the walls to form an opening on the longitudinal axis of the patio. This solution lets us calibrate the natural ventilation of the space and grants maximum flexibility in its use and adaptation to the severe weather conditions of Yucatan.
