When Sordo Madaleno Arquitectos began working on Solaz Los Cabos, a Luxury Collection Resort, a sprawling property on Mexico’s Baja Peninsula, the Mexico City-based firm’s primary objective was to find the best way to integrate the resort’s various accommodations—128 rooms, 147 timeshare villas, and 21 full-floor residences located in three nine-story towers—into the sloped, oceanfront site. “The project had to connect the desert landscape and the Sea of Cortez in a natural way,” says project leader Boris Pena.
The strategy was to follow the existing topography by staggering buildings and breaking up larger volumes to create additional terraces and capitalize on the views. At the top of the property, the five highest elevated six-story buildings are spaced apart and angled slightly toward each other, while the low-rise buildings beneath are arranged in undulating terraces and feature green roofs planted with local desert flora. This was done to provide insulation and manage humidity while also blending with the breathtaking landscape. As a result, the resort maintains a light and airy feel despite its 33-acre footprint. “You are surrounded by buildings and a large amount of square footage, but you don’t feel it,” says Pena. “It’s more like you’re in a little village by the sea.”
Contemporary furnishings complement a blend of local travertine, granite, quarry stone, and huanacaxtle—a tropical hardwood used for exterior cladding. “The selection of materials was very important,” he says. “If you want to tell history, you need to touch wood and stone. The natural elements go with you on a whole journey.”
The architects also collaborated with Baja-based landscape designers and commissioned local artist César López Negrete to create more than 400 original pieces inspired by the region for the resort, including sculptural furniture made from raw timber and wall reliefs inspired by the peninsula’s ancient cave paintings. “It was not a linear process,” Pena says of their collaboration. “We were giving each other ideas and discussing concepts all the way through the three-year construction process.” Baja’s slower pace was instrumental to the resort’s success, as it gave the designers enough time to get things right. “I’ve worked in hospitality for 25 years and you’re always in a hurry, so you have less time to put your heart in it.”
To encourage guests to slow down and enjoy the idyllic setting, the studio crafted a series of meandering passageways and strung up hammocks in shaded pockets where they can enjoy the views and ocean breezes. Beachfront amenities include two 165-foot-long infinity pools, the El Gabinete del Barco artifacts gallery, and a 10,000-square-foot spa, for which Pena employed a similar strategy of fragmentation. “Spaces have been broken down to feel intimate,” he says. “There’s a labyrinth of corridors and treatment rooms with personal water features for that connection with nature.” Indeed, water features figure prominently throughout the property as many rooms have terraces with their own plunge pools, effortlessly adding to the feel of being cocooned in a fresh desert oasis.
