Concrete House Design Perched On A Forest Hill Slope With Pacific Ocean Views

Not far from Costa Rican town Uvita there is a hidden small resort Art Villas on the jungle hill above the beach Playa Hermosa.
3 unique villas and one multifunctional pavilion are scattered over a plot of 2 ha. When the investor approached the architects, he wished to create a place where the visitors merge with the surrounding nature, clearing their mind, experiencing luxury and adventure at the same time. He wanted to create a place that digs deep into everyone’s heart when they taste it.
The architects from the Formafatal studio followed the client’s assignment and were also inspired by the atmosphere and colorfulness of Central and South America.

Out of all the villas in the Art Villas complex, this majestic concrete villa was the first to be designed, as well as finished. The bright minds behind the architectural concept of the building belong to the Refuel Works studio. The investor approached the Formafatal studio concerning interior design solutions while the planning and preparations were still in progress.

The two-storey villa holds a prominent spot on the premises of 25 000m2, with a floor area of 570 m2. Apart from the generous common area (foyer, main living room, kitchen with a dining room, and the roofed terrace by the pool), the villa is equipped with a total of 5 bedrooms with private bathrooms. In the basement, there is a playroom for the children, a gym, a dance hall, a walk-in closet, a laundry room and utility rooms.

When designing the interiors, we found inspiration not only in the surrounding wild jungle, but also in the work of the Brazilian architect Paulo Mendez da Rocha. The concrete walls are deliberately left raw, complementing the interior components, selected materials, water, and greenery – all together creating an unusual environment, both rough and luxurious.

The bedrooms and bathrooms feature cement ornamental tiled floors, custom-made over the border in Nicaragua. The ever-changing patterns and colours are a reflection of the elusive and unique nature of every moment in time. Every step leads to a change. The hand-painted watercolour jungle motif on the kitchen backsplash is another interior highlight. Serving as a mirror reflecting life behind the wall, the wall becomes a window allowing us to see the nature outside.

Art Villa, as well as Atelier Villa ( https://youtu.be/1E6_9CcqVGU ), is for the most part furnished with furniture designed and custom-made by local craftsmen or manufactured in the Czech Republic and then brought to the site. The custom pieces go well together with several armchairs of a shared origin – they were all designed by South American designers and architects.

Teak wood, metal, and linen – these materials dominate in the villa interiors, and together with custom made furniture pieces in secondary pastel and bright colours, truly bring the raw concrete monolithic interior to life with a touch of softness.

Greenery and garden elements
A while ago, we were approached to design the greenery around several exceptional buildings built by Czech investor in beautiful Costa Rica.

The overall vegetation concept was quite specific due to the lot being on a very steep slope. We tried to maximise the space, engage and open up the garden, so we designed in various steps and small terraces. Elsewhere, we weaved in a long and colourful slide entertaining both the kids and adults.
In the plant selection, we preferred the local non-invasive greenery, selecting especially the edible plans from the local area.

The greenery is what bonds and connects the buildings in one complex. The whole hill where this garden is situated is called Achiote, Spanish name for Bixa Orellana. So, we played a lot with achiote around the garden. There was also the Costa Rican national tree Enterolobium cyclocarpu and we planted a few more around. Of course, you can also find banana plants, coconut palm trees, mango trees, papaya or less known plants such as annona muricata or guava.

Project name: Art Villa
Architects: Formafatal – http://www.formafatal.cz/
Location: Bahia Ballena, Playa Hermosa, Costa Rica
Area: 570 m²
Year: 2019
Photographs: BoysPlayNice – http://www.boysplaynice.com/
Formafatal | Dagmar Štěpánová | interior design
Refuel works | Jan Skoupý, Zbyněk Ryška | architectural concept of Art Villa
Landscape architect – greenery and garden elements: atelier Flera
Realization of screed surfaces: Different Design
Jungle watercolor painting: Můj Originál

Almost in F – Tranquillity by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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