Architecturals

Creating Casa Desiderata  #1

It was an amazing purchase, a prepared building lot located 750' above the Pacific Ocean, about 15 minutes from the small surfing village known as Dominical in the Southern Zone of Costa Rica. 

From the moment I visited it, I could imagine the house I would design. It would take the form of a temple honoring the distant view of a special landmass known as Manuel Antonio National Rainforest.
Creating Casa Desiderata  #2

This is the east view of the prepared building lot, as offered for sale in 2004. I envisioned a house perched on the plateau with no grass to mow, no leaves to rake, a kind of penthouse apartment floating above the jungle canopy.
Creating Casa Desiderata  #3 

I got to work right away, creating hundreds of scribbles and sketches, eventually producing a carefully structured floor plan. 

Note that this final floor plan is envisioned from the opposite side of the prepared building lot in pic #2. The pool and patio direct one's views westward toward the sea and to the mountains in the north.
Creating Casa Desiderata  #4 

I designed the master bedroom to occupy the most secluded section of the house, nestled into the back hill, with a private patio enlarging the space.

A mahogany headboard and built-in lamp tables stretch the length of the wall. The horizontal line of the headboard continues out onto the patio, formed of stucco'd concrete to withstand the elements. A trickling fountain anchors the line, adding life to the quiet space.
Creating Casa Desiderata  #5

Our builder, 28 year old Roy Ceciliano, was a brilliant Costa Rican with a crew of twelve men who lived on the property for one year. 

Roy spoke no English, nor did any of his crew. I spoke Castilian Spanish, which I had originally learned back in the 1970s. It's somewhat akin to the Queen's British accent, and my accent always drew funny looks from the costarricense crew!
Creating Casa Desiderata. #6

This pic is from 2006. Work progressed slowly but surely, quietly and carefully. In September 2007 the house was completed. 

To see the results, visit my Youtube video "Casa Desiderata" :

As Roy bid me goodbye, he said that as long as there was breath in his body, he would be available to attend to any problems with the house.

It is a fact that less than one month later, Roy died tragically while crossing a mountain ravine bridge during a tropical rainstorm. His truck's front wheel slipped off the curb-less edge. He was swept into the waters of the raging stream.