4 casas windows on back side

On the side of a steep cliff in Mexico City, these two tower homes stretch toward the sky, appearing from some angles to be perched dangerously over the valley below. Built by Gaeta Springall Architects, the twin structures are built on steel supports.

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4 casas cliffside view

Each tower houses two identical homes, separated horizontally by a central balcony. The short ends of each building feature floor-to-ceiling glass, allowing for stunning views of the spectacular landscape.

Supported by thin steel beams, the concrete structures look rather precariously balanced. They are anchored deep in the ground, however, and allow for the exhilarating feeling of floating while being completely stable.

4 casas balanced cliffside modern homes

The stacked buildings also feature smaller slit windows on the long sides, allowing for even more sunlight to reach into the homes. The project, appropriately called 4 Casas, encompasses the benefits of living in a detached home with the benefits – and neighborly closeness – of living in a multi-home building.

4 casas skinny windows

More on the project from Gaeta Springall Architects:

“The project is designed from two towers containing two houses each. The access to both is from the level zero, ascending or descending to the houses. A progression through the building shows the integration with the landscape, and the houses appear floating or below the access road. The project intends for the houses to barely touch the ground, hence the structural design which has only four metal columns in each tower that achieve the effect of ‘floating houses’ in the landscape.”

4 casas view from road

“The ground floor is completely free, adding to the integration with the natural landscape and achieving a very special accessibility to the building and to the houses. In terms of language, we used pure forms and envelopes with a very limited material palette; the facades open to the best views and the openings to the secondary views are controlled.”