On the Pacific coast of Oaxaca, thirty minutes north of Puerto Escondido, a 65-acre stretch of land meets the ocean with 550 metres of uninterrupted coastline. 

What exists instead is one of the most quietly radical cultural institutions in the world – a place where architect Tadao Ando’s famous concrete architecture has been perfectly executed in a new environment, finding its form as a “line between Earth and Sky”.

This is Fundación Casa Wabi, founded in 2014 by Mexican artist Bosco Sodi, with its main headquarters designed and built by architect Tadao Ando and project manager/architect Alex Iida with the collaboration of the local law firm BAAQ. Surrounding the build on the multi-acre art site, pavilions, ideas and installations by the worlds most recognised architects such as Alberto Kalach, OMA and Kengo Kuma grace the site and embrace the context.

Casa Wabi – the name draws from the Japanese philosophy of wabi-sabi: the acceptance of impermanence, the beauty of the imperfect, the unconventional.

It is a fitting frame for a place that resists easy categorisation. Not quite a museum, not a retreat in the commercial sense, not a biennial – Casa Wabi operates across five programs: residencies, exhibitions, clay, film and a mobile library. Its ambition is social as much as artistic, deeply entangled with the communities of the Oaxacan coast rather than positioned above them.

The architecture is the most immediately striking thing, and it is extraordinary. At its structural core is a single concrete wall — 312 metres long, 3.6 metres high — that runs east to west parallel to the ocean, Ando’s defining gesture for the site. To the north of it: the public realm, gallery spaces, gardens, a palapa for gatherings and film screenings. To the south: the private, contemplative half — six freestanding bungalows for resident artists, studios open to the ocean. 

Around the main Ando-designed building, the Casa Wabi grounds function as an ongoing commission, each pavilion designed by a different architect of international standing, each one serving a genuine purpose rather than acting as a sculptural gesture alone.

Siza’s Clay Pavilion (2017), his first work in Mexico, wraps a curved brick wall around a courtyard where local children attend workshops. Kengo Kuma’s Chicken Coop (2019) uses the traditional Japanese technique of shou sugi ban — charred wood — to house the chickens whose eggs supply the foundation’s kitchen. CCA’s Orchid Pavilion (2024), a lightweight timber structure partially buried in the ground, maintains the humidity and ventilation native orchids need to survive, its clay bowls drip-irrigating both the plants and the water glasses of visiting guests.

The most recent addition is OMA’s Mushroom Pavilion, an ellipsoid concrete shell that will rust and weather over time — three chambers for growing mushrooms ring a central gathering space, the lower half stepped like an amphitheatre to display handmade terracotta pots, an oculus opening the whole thing to the sky.

Outside, Casa Wabi looks after its own beehives, in its apiary area they have two species of bees: Melipona and the Honey bee. Mexican architect Alberto Kalach designed the development of a 27-hectare botanical garden whose objective is to preserve and catalog the species of the area such as the parota, macuil, majahua and flor de lantana, as well as promote environmental education.

Closer to the entrance, visitors will find a small shop and an outdoor pavilion designed by the Ambrosi-Etchegaray Mexican Studio. The pavilion was built with the purpose of protecting, caring for and continuing the reproduction of the Guaiacum coulteri species (Guayacán), which is originally from the Caribbean but grows very well in the environment.

The residency program has run since the foundation’s earliest days, initially hosting established artists and gradually opening through annual open calls, including a long-running partnership with ArtReview. Residents receive a private bungalow, studio space, three meals a day, and a six-week period in which to develop a project in dialogue with surrounding communities. A second residency, Casa Nano, operates in Tokyo.

The clay program reaches into local primary and middle schools. The film program runs workshops and screens national films to educate Mexican’s on their culture. A mobile library, developed in partnership with Fundación Alfredo Harp Helú Oaxaca, moves through coastal communities that might not otherwise have access to books.

Casa Wabi does not ask to be looked at from a distance. It is structured around contact — between artists and place, between international practice and local knowledge, between the world’s most celebrated architects. That tension is the point. Beauty here is not decorative. It champions the rawness of the Oaxacan coast, its people and artisans. 

Champ Editorial Director Monique Kawecki speaks to Alex Iida, architectural designer and project architect and manager at Tadao Ando Architectural Office, principal architect working on the Ando build at Casa Wabi.

ALA CHAMP: You were the principal architect working on this project, could you tell us more about how you oversaw everything?

ALEX IIDA: We made several site visits but most importantly clear and close communication with the client, local architect and local team on ground. (Their) team visited Japan to learn the construction as well as to feel our other buildings in Japan.

What were the challenges and advantages of working in this part of the world, the Oaxacan coast?

It was my first time visiting Puerto Escondido; therefore, the visit was very pure. Without any preconceived idea the inspiration of the project shaped naturally instantly. It focused on forming dialogue with the site and authentic surrounding nature sandwiched between the mountain and beach and thinking about how to quietly amplify its beauty.

Experiencing and working with the authenticity and rawness of the local environment, people and culture was incredible. We integrate local wisdom and craft into design such as palapa roof with Oaxacan palm. We learned a lot from each other and as a result something grounded yet dynamic project was formed.

How long was the entire build process, and did you visit the site regularly?

Construction began in Spring of 2012 and had an opening ceremony in late 2014.

I visited the site during critical moments such as at the beginning of the design, encountering with local architecture and craftsman, pouring concrete mockups to train the local team and working out the construction details. Everyone involved in the project was extremely passionate and serious that process was quite smooth considering its remote location.

The design relates to the cardinal signs in a + layout, can you tell us more about this and how it also points both to the mountains and the ocean? 

The main 312m long wall running east to west was placed not only to divide the space and programs but also to emphasizing the horizontality of the ocean horizon on the south side and the terrain of the mountain on the north.

Private programs such as villas and lounge area were placed on the beach side of the wall and public programs such as gallery and studios on the mountain side of the wall. Main wall is the primary circulation where all programs are connected which one can take the infinite loop of journey.

The concrete build holds Ando’s signature, smooth texture. How did the Oaxacan workforce achieve this to perfection?

It was an incredible process.

Back in 2013 there was nothing in that area including roads and infrastructure; therefore, even large concrete truck was not able to access the site. As a result, every single bit of concrete was manually mixed, carried and poured. There is no special mix or chemical to achieve monolithic and smooth concrete surface. It is only about extra care from workers every step of the way. Keeping the process consistent is critical. For example, cleanliness of the surface and temperature of the formwork when the concrete is poured effects the surface color and quality; therefore, to keep it consistent throw-out the project we poured before sunrise as during the day it can get really hot which dries the concrete mix faster than in cooler temperature.

Everyone was so passionate and had so much respect for the project, I believe, in person, one can feel the passion, care and energy it took to form this incredible concrete wall.

Have you been back to Casa Wabi since its opening? How have you seen the architecture evolve?

Yes, I have.

We are happy to see all the wild greens have grown and, in some cases, taken over the structure. We believe architecture should be well encountered with surrounding nature to feel the comfort. It is amazing how the project has grown with various artists and architects adding structure around the project. Each new structure gives new life, perspective and constantly evolving for the local population as well as for global audience to re-visit over and over so discover something new and within themselves. 

In your personal opinion, how does architecture change the context one resides in? What is the power of framing a space and providing shelter within it?

Space is a constant reminder of your instinct and scale which is something one is born with or nurtured in span of lifetime and something which cannot be learned or trained. Subconsciously space effects our emotions every day; therefore, being able to identify space which one instinctively feel comfortable and in need is important.

The designer’s purpose is being able to ask, understand and feel the right questions to frame the space desired. If not, it becomes a decorated but empty box.

Casa Wabi

Salina Cruz – Santiago Federal Highway
Pinotepa Nacional Km. 113, 71847 Puerto Escondido, Oax.

* Mandatory reservation