Rafael Gamo

OBJETIVO

Understanding the surrounding landscape as a key element of the project, all the architectural decisions were taken to preserve and elevate the ecosystems present on site.

A series of compact volumes along the perimeter of the plot, form an enclosed central courtyard with a 10’000 sqm low-water xerophyte garden so that each suite benefits from an unobstructed relation between the guests and the landscape. Such typology, also typical of the Californias’ Missions was developed by the Spanish Jesuits in the XVIII century seeking protection from nature. In Paradero, this historic precedent is turned inside-out fully embracing the desert.

Beyond being only contemplative, the garden articulates common areas such as the living room, the restaurant and the wellness. Visitors can then interact as a community within the garden. The only common area outside of the garden is the swimming pool which features a half moon shaped deck that virtually extends into the desert.

Access to the suites is made through a series of paths within the garden. The facades facing these paths are composed so that their scale and abstraction do not reveal what awaits behind. Once inside, the guests discover a carefully organized sequence of inside/outside spaces erasing the limits between the suite and the cacti fields facing the hotel.
The project is built with locally sourced beige concrete accentuated by details of tornillo wood, metal and handmade textiles, blending both inside and outside with the surrounding’s palette.

CONTEXTO

Located in the desert of Baja California Sur, south of the town Todos Santos, the hotel is surrounded by a unique variety of ecosystems which inform its architecture.
Family owned farmlands, an infinite cacti desert, a beach with thousands of palm trees and arid mountains are inserted in the Sierra de la Laguna UNESCO biosphere reserve where the hotel is located.