How Mayan Construction Shapes a Luxury Condo Complex in Mexico

2023 Best of Year Winner for International Multiunit Residential

The first of an eventual 16 residential buildings across a 12-acre master plan that includes a resort, The Village in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, is visually complex and dynamic, both outside and in. Designed by Sordo Madaleno, the 160,220-square-foot condominium springs from a modular, Mayan-inspired “defragmented pyramid” system that facilitates construction—and nods to the region’s pre-Hispanic history. Approximately 13-foot-square structural boards make up the modules, which have been configured to produce six different apartment layouts, ranging from 900 square feet to more than 2,500, and one to four bedrooms. The concrete-framed construction yields a seemingly random array of terraces that add greenery to the exterior, harmonizing the project with its lush jungle setting. The terraces also provide space for residents to plant their own flower and vegetable gardens. 

JAVIER SORDO MADALENO BRINGAS; JAVIER SORDO MADALENO DE HARO; FERNANDO SORDO MADALENO DE HARO; LUIS HERNÁNDEZ; JAVIER PÁEZ; ALEJANDRO OLIVIER; ANTONIO URRUTIA; RAYMUNDO BALDOVINOS.