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Outdoor Elevated Glass Walkway Connects Two Sections of House

House in the Forest by Grupo Arquitectura is located in a suburb of Mexico City and features an outdoor elevated glass walkway offering views to the lush green courtyards below and connecting two concrete volumes – one that includes the living, dining and kitchen areas and the other for the services and private rooms.
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Aside from a glass used in the walkway and the concrete on the two volumes, House in the Forest consists of wooden beams, a steel frame and large spans of glazing to take advantage of the panoramic ocean views.

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A double sided steel fireplace has been located so that it can be enjoyed from an outdoor terrace as well as from the living room.
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The living room is double volume and is wrapped in glass to take advantage of the amazing treed views.
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Overlooking the sunken living room is the dining area which is large enough to easily hold a square 12 seat dining table.
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Behind the dining room and partially hidden behind screens is the home’s incredible stainless steel kitchen. Aside from the functional design, laid out to easily accommodate more than one cook, I love the selection of suspended air plants in the corner.
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To integrate the interior with the surrounding forest and to ensure lots of natural light, Grupo Arquitectura designed the home with hallways that travel along the glazings.
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Aside from the interior walkways, there is also the glass floored walkway that connects the two volumes.
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The outdoor walkway overlooks the family room downstairs.
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As with the living room upstairs the family room is double volume and is all about the views.
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A concrete stairwell connects the different levels.
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The family room is on the 2nd floor and is where the media center is located.
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Grupo Arquitectura where very careful in the design process to accommodate pre-existing trees in the home’s layout.
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To protect against direct sunlight, certain facades have been clad with aluminum Brise Soleil sunshades and this as well as the orientation and high thermal mass, the house remains at a comfortable temperature throughout the year.
Grupo Arquitectura
Photography by Agustin Garza
Designing and building a home in a dense forest climate is no easy task and usually such homes are much smaller in scale than House in a Forest and often they are prefab as well. In fact in the Brazilian Costa Verde Rain-forest a prefab home was designed with a Galvalume sheet barrel roof.

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