CASA TLALOC, Ximena Labra 2022.


Casa Tlaloc is a sustainable architecture project, art studio, art retreat (by invitation only) and vacation home anyone can book on airbnb -an artwork that is inhabitable by its visitors in their own chosen time. Designed and built by Ximena Labra with local materials and with local people of San Pablo Etla Oaxaca, Mexico. It is in many ways an artisan project.

Its first element is a water deposit with a 130,000 liter capacity. The building collects rainwater which filters into this deposit. The facade is decorated with a 500 tile ceramic mural representing the face of the pre hispanic rain deities Pitao Cocijo and Tlaloc.

Each tile was made with the artisan Felipe Torres from Atzompa, Oaxaca, designed individually and sometimes baked twice to obtain the right coloring, sometimes the process involves with pigments, (blue) and for other tiles it involves using over burning or smoke.

Artists particcipating in the retreat interact with local artisans and are given recurring stays to complete their process and develop their projects more fully.

The large wooden working table, and other outdoor furniture pieces are made from the remains of the building process.

Over the face of Tlaloc, an actual home was built consisting of large windows and a Catalan vault ceiling that can be viewed form the outer terrace as the God's headdress. Like many pre hispanic deities, Pitao Cocijo holds a water recipient- the staircase represents the God's arm holding the small pool.

The pool has four large sitting stones, dedicated to the Tlaloques, the servants or powers of Tlaloc that actually materialize as weather, and all living beings. They are oriented in the four directions. The Tlaloques are also featured inside the house in unique red clay representations made for this wall. There are several artworks that only Tlaloc visitors can purchase.

The pool is filtered by two ponds in the upper garden, containing a living system of plants, fish and substrates that keep the water pristine and drinkable without the need of chemical additives. The ponds support a number of birds, small animals and many insects, especially bees and other pollinators, and those that develop in water like dragon-flies.The garden is also kept with many local wild flower species and plants where they can thrive.

A fresh body of water with aquatic fauna is relevant in San Pablo where the dry season is very long, and accumulating water is crucial, since heavy rains only happen for one or two months in the area. Terraces have also been created so that the otherwise steep slopes in the landscape can retain more humidity and support more trees. A variety of local trees, that can adapt to the area and flower in different seasons have been growing for the last thirty years, providing shade, food, and balance.

On the inside, Casa Tlaloc is a single space with a carrizo ceiling, a kitchen, a bathroom, bed and sofas, decorated with local crafts. It is a place to be lived mostly outside as the ideal Oaxacan weather makes this possible, and the setting is a few steps from a natural reservoir.

The ironworks on the balconies ad the stairs represent the movement of the sun and the moon. The lamps are inspired in nine female forms of the prehispanic Goddesses Chocomecóatl, Chalchitlicue, Huichana and Nohuichana, weavers of the universe, bringers of life, abundance and maize.

The eastern wall of the building is another mural made of local stones with comales representing a sacred alignment of planets.

Because it is immersed in trees, it is also ideal for bird watching from the upper terrace. From a distance, the house can hardly be seen, as its facade is almost covered by a large Eucalyptus, Jacaranda, Ceiba many Guaje trees, and its blue-green stone walls get lost, blending in with the vegetation.

A lot of people ask me if they can stay there even if they are not artists or doing an art project.

Yes, you can book at

https://www.airbnb.com/h/tlaloc

And in doing so you will be supporting future art projects.