- Interior
Fernanda Canales approaches architecture with careful attention to the site, the climate, and the ways people inhabit space. Her work avoids unnecessary ornament, focusing instead on how spaces are arranged, experienced, and perceived. House 720 Degrees follows this approach, opening to its surroundings while remaining firmly connected to the land it occupies.
Fernanda Canales Architecture, based in Mexico City, works across design, research, and teaching. Her academic background spans Mexico and Spain, with advanced studies completed in Madrid and Barcelona. In addition to her built work, she has shared her ideas through publications and exhibitions held in institutions throughout Europe and the United States. She has written extensively on housing, privacy, and collective living, and her teaching continues to inform the way she thinks about space, scale, and the relationship between people and their surroundings. The practice consistently considers both social and environmental context, shaping projects that are functional, enduring, and closely attuned to daily life.
In addition, a lake sits adjacent to the house, providing a natural cooling effect during the warmer summer months.
House 720 Degrees, completed in 2024 in La Reserva Peñitas in the State of Mexico, is organized as a circular plan structured around a central courtyard. The geometry allows the house to engage with the landscape in all directions. During the day, the building opens outward, framing distant views of a mountain and a volcano. In the evening, the focus shifts inward, with the courtyard becoming the heart of the house. In addition, a lake sits adjacent to the house, providing a natural cooling effect during the warmer summer months.
The project consists of three volumes: the main circular house, a separate studio, and a rectangular block containing additional bedrooms and services. This arrangement follows the slope of the site and preserves existing vegetation. The construction uses a mixture of local soil and concrete, producing a finish that closely matches the tones of the land. Rectangular rooms occupy the interior, while curved walls guide circulation and open onto terraces and gardens. Movable panels and screens also allow the interior to adapt to changing conditions of light and airflow.
Located in a remote valley subject to strong climatic variations, the house operates independently through rainwater collection, solar energy, and passive ventilation. The building sits low in the landscape, its materials and form allowing it to blend into the surroundings. Over time, the building responds to seasonal changes, not through transformation of form, but through subtle shifts in appearance and use, reinforcing its connection to the environment.
Architect of Record: Fernanda Canales
Team: Aarón Jassiel, Alberto García Valladares, Ángela Vizcarra
Interior decoration: Camilla Pallares
Engineers / Consultants
Structural Engineer: Gerson Huerta – Grupo Sai
Sanitary and electrical installations: Carlos Medina – Grupo MEB
Carpentry: Óscar Nieto
Lighting: Lucas Salas
General Contractor: Felipe Nieto Text by Ellen De Meyer