07-08-2025
From Puerto Escondido to Mazunte, Tropical Brutalism Is Sweeping the Oaxacan Coast
Nearby is Castillo de Arena by Alberto Kalach, which opened at the end of 2024. The 10-room property consists of three tri-level Brutalist towers to make a combined silhouette evoking a sand castle rising from the jungle, with each level connected to a central courtyard where two ancient ceiba trees provide a natural canopy above a reflecting pool. Just across the dirt path is Xique, an eight-bedroom property by locally based Estudio Carroll.
Last but not least, there's Casa Yuma, a 25-room property built by Mexico City-based architect Ricardo de La Concha and interior designer Sara Skalli that seamlessly integrates the property into the serene surroundings through design: a limestone and resin finish known as chukum is applied to walls and paired with wood, brick, and cement, creating a minimalistic structure that extends along the beach while preserving the natural landscape.
Photo: Jasson Rodriguez / Courtesy of Casa Yuma
Photo: Jasson Rodriguez / Courtesy of Casa Yuma
With direct flights now connecting Puerto Escondido to Houston—and service from New York and Los Angeles launching soon—the area's evolution as an architectural destination shows no signs of slowing, especially with the opening of Kymaia, where I spend the final days of my trip nestled between Mazunte and Puerto Escondido. The 22-room boutique property, designed by architect Ezequiel Ayarza Sforza, dissolves seamlessly into the Oaxacan topography. Though each two-story suite structure is scattered throughout the landscape, and though they're meant to evoke Japanese design principles, I can't help but see echoes of ancient Mexica temples in their stepped profiles.
Photo: Courtesy of Kymaia
Photo: Courtesy of Kymaia
This architectural approach—raw concrete, exposed wood, unglazed clay—feels like a natural evolution of Oaxaca's centuries-old design traditions. The same hands that shape the region's famous barro negro pottery and weave textiles dyed with cochineal from local cactus insects now work with architects to create these contemporary structures. The materials may be cast in modern forms, but the philosophy remains unchanged: work with what the earth provides, let the elements guide the design, honor the craft of transformation. The Oaxacan coast may be growing and changing at a rapid pace, but at least the type of development feels like it was meant to be here all along.
