Casa Wabi / Tadao Ando, Gloria Cabral and Solano Benítez, Damián Comas for Jorge Ambrosi and Gabriela Etchegaray, Dakin Hart, Alberto Kalach, Kengo Kuma, Alfonso Quiñones, Alberto Ríos de la Rosa, Álvaro Siza, Bosco Sodi, Carla Sodi Ambrosí, Martino Stierli, and Rebeca Murrieta Valladares.
Introduction / Martino Stierli -- Vision / Tadao Ando -- Landscape and gardens / Alberto Kalach -- Entrance and main palapa / Carla Sodi Ambrosi -- Sea and pools / Bosco Sodi -- The residency program / Carla Sodi Ambrosi -- Gallery / Alberto Ríos de la Rosa -- Studio and observatory / Bosco Sodi -- The Atlantes Pavilion / Bosco Sodi -- Clay Pavilion / Álvaro Siza -- Chickeh Pavilion / Kengo Kuma -- The Guayacan Nursery / Damián Comas for Jorge Ambrosi and Gabriela Etchegaray -- The composting programs / Rebeca Murrieta Valladores -- Building Casa Wabi / Alfonso Quiñones --Afterword / Dakin Hart -- Visiting Casa Wabi -- Architects' biographies
Summary:
Tadao Ando's remarkable Casa Wabi dots the Pacific coastline of Mexico with structures by Alberto Kalach, Alvaro Siza, Kengo Kuma, Gloria Cabral, Solano Benitez, Jorge Ambrosi, and Gabriela Etchegaray. Founded in 2013 by renowned Mexican artist Bosco Sodi, it combines artist residencies, a gallery, and living quarters with classrooms, gardens, and public space. Tadao Ando centers the foundation on a 312-meter-long wall; his trademark concrete structures radiate off it, capped in woven palm tree leaves for ventilation. These local palapa-style roofs are often the only element distinguishing indoor and outdoor spaces, an effect complemented by wooden shutters in place of paned glass windows. Other unusual native building materials include Mexican parota wood and marmolina. Led by director Carla Sodi, Casa Wabi challenges architects and artists to contemplate nature deeply, as it provides new tools for area residents. Casa Wabi is both a world-class architectural destination and a model for new strategies of creative intervention within economically depressed communities.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.