Hacienda Niop Gets a New Lease on Life
Restored with a New Life and Purpose
AS arquitectura is a Merida based practice that started from traditional Southeast-Mexican home masonry walls and courtyards. They created a new structure that bases itself from the existing buildings, breathing into it a new life that doesn’t stray far from its roots. The old structure is in varying levels of ruin, from decaying walls, openings from previous doors and windows, to completely reusable components. The architects behind the project put these elements into serious consideration, and built with intention to revive and adapt to these conditions instead of destroying and building from scratch. They established subtle support systems that would allow the structure to age beautifully, without altering too much of its history. The estate, used initially as a housing for livestock and textile, is now transformed into an area for recreation. It now offers a boutique hotel, ballroom, weekend getaways, restaurant, private villas, and common areas used to host various events. A lot of the original parts of Niop Hacienda are still an essential and defining element of the project, but there are also improvements and subtle additions to the structure such as steel, stone, wood, glass, and chukum (a waterproof stucco finish rendered from a local tree). These modern injections into the architecture aim to renew its purpose and add features relevant to modern day users. Take a look through these photos and tell us what you think on our Facebook Page!
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