The house has a rainwater storage system for year-round use

MEXICO Not only harmonizes with the surrounding green carpet, the house also has a rainwater storage system for homeowners to use all year round.

Rain Harvest Home (or Casa Cosecha de Lluvia) is located in the town of Temascaltepec, about 140 kilometers west of Mexico City. The project was designed by two architects Robert Hutchison (USA) and Javier Sanchez Arquitectos (Mexico). The house is owned by the founder of the architectural firm JSa, who uses it as a resort and a permanent residence in the future.

The project consists of 3 independent structures: a main house, a bathroom and an art studio. Outside there are orchards and pathways, designed according to sustainable agriculture principles to "establish a holistic, integrated relationship between people and places".

Panorama of Rain Harvest Home includes the main house on the right, a separate bathroom and an art studio.

The highlight of the project is attention to water consumption. Accordingly, all structures are designed to collect and reuse rainwater. The architects affirmed that the rainwater collection, storage and treatment system meets 100% of the house's water needs.

"Here, as in the area around central Mexico, water becomes an increasingly valuable resource as temperatures and populations increase," the design team said. The Temascaltepec area has a rainy season, but rainwater collection is not common. Instead, water is often pumped from distant basins. Therefore, Rain Harvest Home is another solution in terms of water access.

With an area of ​​111 m2, the house is the main residence and living space of the family. The building is designed with a very large covered terrace and views of the landscape from many directions.

A main indoor space overlooks the outdoor landscape.

The common area of ​​the house consists of an open plan living room, dining space and kitchen. The private areas have two bedrooms, an office, a small bathroom, a dressing room and a storage room.

Near the main house is a separate bathroom of 16 square meters. The building is designed to offer "a poetic dialogue with the experience of water". The bathroom has a circular shape, consisting of 4 bathrooms surrounding an open space cold plunge pool in the center. Rooms have hot tubs, saunas, steam rooms, and restrooms.

The other building is an art studio of 19 square meters, rectangular in shape. All three buildings have wooden frames and black pine paneling. Concrete foundation covered with recinto volcanic rock. The roof is planted with vegetation.

Isolated bath house outside of Rain Harvest Home.

In the main house, the architect used additional steel columns to support the elongated eaves. The interior of the house uses recinto stone and plywood made of Southern yellow pine.

All 3 buildings are designed with the ability to collect rainwater. This water source along with water from landscape lakes is directed to open-air and underground reservoir systems for purification and storage. "The on-site water treatment system is completely self-contained, consisting of five storage tanks providing potable and treated water," the design team said.

In addition, Rain Harvest Home has a chemical-free on-site wastewater treatment system to reuse for toilets and watering plants. Not only self-sufficient in water, the project also has 10 kW solar panels to supply electricity for all 3 buildings.

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