Valle de Bravo, Mexico

Located on the outskirts of Valle de Bravo in the State of Mexico, the Valle San Nicolás Club House by Sordo Madaleno Arquitectos is a 370-hectare residential development, where the urban layout and every architectural element are designed in harmony with nature and with the aim of protecting the existing landscape.

Valle San Nicolás Club House has recently been awarded a 2023 International Architecture Award by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.

Throughout the complex, spaces of relaxation and well-being are offered for residents, enhancing the connection with and enjoyment of the natural surroundings.

These include the Clubhouse and the 800-meter waterski lake set at the lowest point on the master plan, taking advantage of the rainwater runoff.

The natural conditions of Valle San Nicolás were explored to better understand how the two most prominent natural elements—the mountain and the lake—could converge and relate to each other through a work of architecture.

This point of encounter gave rise to the Clubhouse as the main place for socializing.

Following the guiding idea of a subtle and friendly approach between architecture and nature, the Clubhouse was conceptualized in reference to a boat anchored in the lake, as if it were floating on the water.

In volumetric terms, it is resolved by means of a circular floor plan fragmented around its radius to distribute and modulate the different areas and amenities it contains.

This programmatic strategy is made visible in the voids and solids created by the internal bodies of water as they merge with the lake and the walls that rise from the bottom of the lake.

Project: Valle San Nicolás Club House
Architects: Sordo Madaleno Arquitectos
Lead Architect: Javier Sordo Madaleno
General Contractor: GJA Desarrolladora
Client: Landscope
Photographers: Rafael Gamo