Located near the town of Temascaltepec, the name of which is drawn from the pre-Hispanic “temazcal” referring to bathhouses and sweat lodges, the home is a prototype for designing regeneratively with water in a place where it has become an increasingly scarce resource. The home is part of a progressive 450-acre development called La Reserva el Peñón which presents a new model for how communities can coexist with nature. Gathering 80 families, La Reserva implements regenerative design strategies to preserve and replenish the land, including a community water collection system that is 100% water autonomous.

Each home in La Reserva is required to harvest rainwater to provide 60% of their water needs, with the neighborhood’s 15 reservoirs providing the remainder. Rain Harvest Home sought to push this agenda even further, developing a completely self-contained and self-sufficient water system. Rain Harvest Home’s dispersed program encourages a close sensory and functional engagement with the land, with walking trails between buildings doubling as bioswales that help channel rainwater. The design offers a subtle participation with nature, the three buildings serving as the aperture through which users engage with their environment to generate a mutually beneficial connection with the site.

Besides being water autonomous, the site contains a bioagriculture garden and orchard where the family harvests the majority of their food. Building on La Reserva’s goals, the home’s landscape approach is centered on regenerating the soil which had been depleted over time.