Residence organized around light, vegetation, and a carefully layered relationship between interior and exterior

Casa Akina by Di Frenna arquitectos is conceived as a residence that reveals its architecture gradually, using light, vegetation, and a central void to shape the experience of moving through the house. Rather than presenting a singular architectural gesture, the project establishes a sequence of spaces in which transitions and changing perceptions of time become integral to everyday life.

Photo credit: Lorena Darquea

Photo credit: Lorena Darquea

Photo credit: Lorena Darquea

The house is defined by a restrained material palette of concrete, stone, and breeze blocks, unified through a consistent range of tones. Board-formed concrete façades, stone flooring, breeze blocks, and built-in elements such as counters, shelving, and display surfaces are treated as components of a cohesive architectural language. The limited palette allows natural light to become a primary source of variation, altering the appearance of the surfaces throughout the day from cool gray to warmer and increasingly pale tones.

Photo credit: Lorena Darquea

Photo credit: Lorena Darquea

Photo credit: Lorena Darquea

The spatial organization develops through a series of layered thresholds. The first courtyard is gradually revealed as the living and dining areas open toward it, bringing vegetation into close visual and spatial proximity with the interior. This relationship continues through the terrace, where large expanses of glass and steel structures allow the main volumes to open extensively toward the landscape. The distinction between interior and exterior is consequently reduced, positioning vegetation as an active component of the domestic environment rather than a visual backdrop.

Photo credit: Lorena Darquea

Photo credit: Lorena Darquea

Photo credit: Lorena Darquea

Material transitions further differentiate the atmosphere of the interior. Wood is introduced selectively through doors, furniture, and textiles, providing a warmer counterpoint to the mineral character of the concrete and stone. The combination maintains the overall restraint of the architecture while creating a more intimate domestic scale.

Photo credit: Lorena Darquea

Photo credit: Lorena Darquea

Photo credit: Lorena Darquea

Breeze blocks play a functional and atmospheric role throughout the house. By filtering direct sunlight, they generate shifting patterns of light and shadow across walls and floors. These changing conditions introduce a temporal dimension to the interiors, with the character of individual spaces varying according to the position and intensity of daylight.

Photo credit: Lorena Darquea

Photo credit: Lorena Darquea

Photo credit: Lorena Darquea

On the upper level, the building volumes are set back to form smaller terraces adjacent to the bedrooms and study. These spaces strengthen the connection between private areas and the surrounding vegetation while providing degrees of visual separation and privacy.

Photo credit: Lorena Darquea

Photo credit: Lorena Darquea

Photo credit: Lorena Darquea

Rather than treating the house as an isolated object within its site, Casa Akina establishes a continuous relationship between architecture, landscape, and natural light. Its spatial sequence is designed around moments of transition and pause, allowing everyday movement through the house to become closely connected to changing light, vegetation, and the passage of time.

Di Frenna Arquitectos

Di Frenna Arquitectos is a multidisciplinary architecture and design studio based in Colima, Mexico, founded and directed by architect Matia Di Frenna. The practice develops residential, commercial, and architectural projects that explore the relationship between contemporary design, material experimentation, and local craftsmanship.

The studio’s work focuses on creating functional, clearly defined spaces through expressive materials, geometric volumes, and careful attention to construction detail. Its architecture seeks a balance between permanence and experimentation, integrating local materials and craftsmanship into contemporary spaces designed around the way people live and experience their surroundings.