GET TO KNOW THE CH73 HOUSE OF THE MEXICAN ARCHITECT BENJAMÍN ROMANO. A SUSTAINABLE ARCHITECTURAL PROJECT WHICH WAS RECENTLY AWARDED BY THE GERMAN DESIGN COUNCIL.

Benjamín Romano is a Mexican architect who founded the LBR&A architecture and design firm. He is internationally recognized for the authorship of the Torre Reforma. According to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, this is the first LEED building in the country and one of the 50 most influential skyscrapers in the world in the last 50 years. This October, LBR&A becomes the first Mexican workshop awarded at the Iconic Awards of the German Design Council for the CH73 house.

The Iconic Awards: Innovative Architecture is organized by the German Architecture Council and rewards the best design in the following categories: Architecture, Concept, Communication, Interior, and Product. The CH73 house is one of the winners in the special section of Best of the Best in the category of Architecture in Munich, Germany.

The Iconic Awards: Innovative Architecture is organized by the German Architecture Council and rewards the best design in the following categories: Architecture, Concept, Communication, Interior, and Product. The CH73 house is one of the winners in the special section of Best of the Best in the category of Architecture in Munich, Germany.

The CH73 house

The CH73 House is one of my favorite projects, which fully reflects our vision of bold, and efficient architectural proposals, which solace structural, functional, and environmental challenges.

Benjamín Romano

The CH73 House is located in Mexico City in Lomas de Chapultepec. It has a total surface area of 1,023 square meters. Half of the land on which it was constructed is at street level and the rest is a ravine, 30 meters down the hill. According to the jury of the German Design Council, “the house, which is reminiscent of a bridge thanks to its striking steel structure, as well as dazzling with its iconic design, meets the demand for sustainability in terms of water and energy consumption.” 

This structural steel and black concrete house has no walls. The divisions of the space are made through a single piece of furniture whose function changes depending on the space in which it is located. It has a clear division of space through holistic design, which incorporates the furniture into the architecture. It has an access, family room, dining room, kitchen with pantry, breakfast room, laundry room, master bedroom with dressing room, bathroom, and terrace on the ground floor; guest bedroom with bathroom, guest bathroom, northeast terrace with breakfast area, southwest terrace with orchard and barbecue. It also has a parking lot, lobby, gym, swimming pool, and service room in the basement.

Structural solutions

The structural design of the house is resolved from a steel frame that frees a 20-meter overhang over the ravine to take advantage of the entire land. The armor rests on three load-bearing walls of black concrete that make up the basement and the foundation is resolved by a geothermal power plant. The CH73 house is built with structural steel and black concrete for the main structure. The facades are made of glass, arabescato marble, New San Gabriel granite, and wood. The floors are new san gabriel granite, concrete, and wood. The interiors have ceiling lights, acoustic textiles, and furniture in wood, marble, and stainless steel.

For the steel structure construction, 15-meter sections were prefabricated. The structure was assembled and sent 20 meters above the ravine with the help of hydraulic jacks in two events, in less than 12 hours each. The displaced weight was 130 tons.

Iconic and Sustainable

The land has a slope of 30 meters, half of the land is at street level and the rest is a ravine down the hill. The land is connected to the northeast by a federal reserve. This land feature prompted LBR&A’s passive bioclimatic architecture strategies. All the water used in the house is treated through a biodigester and is used to irrigate the federal reserve. It is powered by solar panels installed in the dome of the house.

The structure’s geothermal power plant help heat the house in winter and preheat the pool the rest of the year with the support of a heat pump.

For the CH73 house, passive strategies of bioclimatic architecture were also applied. Among these elements, there are protected and ventilated facades that respond to their orientation, cross ventilation, and protection by shape, among others.


  • TEXT: Bob J. Barraza

  • TRANSLATION: Brenda Turral

  • PHOTOS: Courtesy

Fecha de Publicación:
24/03/2023