A Brick-and-Concrete Home With a Library Emphasizes Circular Motifs in Mexico

At once minimalist yet textured and warm, the UC House goes further than blurring the lines between indoor/outdoor spaces—it obliterates the boundaries almost entirely. Located on the outskirts of Morelia, Mexico, the 5,920-square-foot residence is grounded by a foyer with a raised, circular ceiling, which houses a tree that grows out from a hole in the floor at the center. From the focal axis of the home, a large glass wall reveals the library, which is the heart of the project.

"The first thing we designed was the library," says Daniela Bucio Sistos, founder of the eponymous Mexico-based architecture and design firm. In the clients’ previous home, every available space—from the bathrooms to the chimney—was filled with books. So when the homeowners hired Sistos to design their new residence, her mission was to create a place for the couple to house their collection of roughly 15,000 publications. "I like to make contemplative spaces that don’t have the character of a home," Sistos says. "That’s the main goal: to make houses that are not typical or traditional."