Dezeen Magazine

Villa Pelícanos by Main Office

Outdoor bathing and a jungle yoga platform feature in Villa Pelícanos by Main Office

Architecture studio Main Office has renovated a 1980s seaside holiday village with traditional thatch roofs overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Sayulita, Mexico.

Called Villa Pelícanos, the 20-guest holiday complex sits on a sloping site where the tropical forest meets the Mexican west coast and has access to a private beach.

Aerial view of Villa Pelícanos by Main Office
Villa Pelícanos can accommodate 20 guests

Main Office, a practice based in Mexico and Sweden, redesigned the eight villas along with the hilltop communal space and swimming pool.

Thatched villas have private outdoor shower or bathtub nesting amongst the rocks and plant fronds.

Yoga platform Villa Pelícanos by Main Office
A wooden yoga platform overlooks the sea

A platform for practising yoga shaped like a half-moon sits further down the hill, surrounded by jungle. Cut into the hillside, the yoga space has a retaining wall made from local stone and a cumaru wood floor.

"A series of small private spaces blur the usual boundaries between inside and outside," said Main Office founders Dante Borgo and Isabella Eriksson.

"Villa Pelícanos creates a unique experience with the natural setting while maintaining a cosy, homey feeling."

Outdoor concrete bathtub at Villa Pelícanos by Main Office
Concrete outdoor bathtubs overlook the South Pacific

The villas' traditional palapa roofs have been re-thatched with palm leaves and the original doors and windows have been restored.

Concrete beds, sinks and outdoor bathtubs were cast in situ, and a new terrazzo floor laid.

Outdoor shower at Villa Pelícanos by Main Office
Outdoor showers are cut into the rock

Mexican parota wood was chosen for interior elements such as furniture, room dividers and wardrobe doors. As well as being a local and low carbon option, parota wood is resistant to humidity and salinity – a durable choice for the seaside location.

Walls are painted white to create a bright, blank backdrop to the concrete and wood.

Living space in Villa Pelícanos by Main Office
The guest villas have traditional thatched roofs

Bathrooms and bedrooms open on to outdoor terraces and gauzy white curtains hang from the wooden rails of four-poster beds.

The architects married Mexican materials and aesthetics with South African elements, in a nod to the owner of Villa Pelícanos' heritage.

Bedroom of Villa Pelícanos by Main Office
White walls contrast with tropical wood

Main Office was founded by Dante Borge and Isabella Eriksson and has offices in Gothenburg and Guadalajara. The practice previously renovated and extended a house in Sayulita using dark wood and concrete.

Architecture studio Palma also used traditional palapa roofs for a holiday home with a yoga and meditation space on Mexico's west coast.

Photography is by Rafael Gamo.


Project credits:

Architect: Main Office
Project team: Angie Guzmán, Paulina Castro, Mave Zurita, Luis Gordian, Brenda Cibrian, Pablo Alemán
Contractor: Terraza Construcciones
Furniture design: Main Office
Client: Private

More images and plans

Plans for Villa Pelícanos by Main Office
Site plan
Plans for Villa Pelícanos by Main Office
Villa floorplan
Plans for Villa Pelícanos by Main Office
Villa floorplan
Plans for Villa Pelícanos by Main Office
Villa floorplan
Plans for Villa Pelícanos by Main Office
Yoga platform plan
Plans for Villa Pelícanos by Main Office
Yoga platform plan
Villa Pelícanos by Main Office
Villa Pelícanos by Main Office
Villa Pelícanos by Main Office
Villa Pelícanos by Main Office
Villa Pelícanos by Main Office
Villa Pelícanos by Main Office
Villa Pelícanos by Main Office
Villa Pelícanos by Main Office
Villa Pelícanos by Main Office
Villa Pelícanos by Main Office
Villa Pelícanos by Main Office
Villa Pelícanos by Main Office
Villa Pelícanos by Main Office
Villa Pelícanos by Main Office
Villa Pelícanos by Main Office
Villa Pelícanos by Main Office
Villa Pelícanos by Main Office
Villa Pelícanos by Main Office
Villa Pelícanos by Main Office