Sustainable Strategies at Teahouse

Teahouse is a project located in Playa Guiones, bordering Nosara’s natural reserve. Teahouse, designed by LOOP Design Studio, is a house that is truly itself in ten years and not today, that ages with the terrain and mutates during the seasons, and with the philosophy that everything has a cycle, including the materials and the structures we create with them.

Photo by: Andrés García Lachner

Construction in Nosara

Nosara is the perfect place to become an international sustainable design destination due to the nature of the site: a place with exuberant flora and fauna and great natural wealth. However, it is threatened by uncontrolled growth.

To preserve Nosara’s ecosystems, it is necessary to integrate sustainable design into construction projects in Nosara. Through sustainable architecture and environmental responsibility education, human growth can be integrated with the abundance of natural resources without sacrificing one for the other.

Sustainable Strategies

Teahouse is a good case study to learn about sustainable strategies aligned with the Nosara Civic Association building regulations. It is an example of how to integrate sustainability requirements into design for a positive and healthy coexistence between the environment, the inhabitants, and the development of a place.

Coverage

Being aware of the natural cycles around us is key to sustainable development. At Teahouse, the built-up area covers less than 27% of the lot. The uncovered area conserves its gardens and trees to preserve soil quality, helps retain rainwater on site and promotes the connectivity of fauna species to prevent islands in protected areas that can isolate species.

Water

Rainwater is directed to a retention area where it infiltrates into the ground. In massive rainfall events, once the retention area is filled, the water is discharged into the nearby creek. Wastewater is treated at a BioNest treatment plant and infiltrated on site.

Height

The maximum height at Teahouse is 7.20 meters, staying within the range of 9 meters allowed within the direct impact zone, to avoid the visibility of the lights from the coast affecting the orientation of the turtles that nest in the refuge.

Exterior lights

The strategy at Teahouse to illuminate paths and gardens was to place most of the lights under the eaves to avoid light pollution that can affect the dynamics of nightlife in the area.

In the garden, the lights were placed at an angle to avoid glare from the sky, and around the Pochote tree, all the lights have a timer to turn off at 8:00 pm. At the entrance to the house, the lights have a motion sensor as well, to illuminate when someone is present.

Preventing bird window strikes

Teahouse's structure fulfills several functions. One of them is to form a large eave around the house to reduce direct sunlight on the exterior glass, avoiding the reflection on the glass that is what causes bird collisions. Also, all the windows are covered by screens to avoid reflections on the glass.

Other sustainable strategies

In summary

At SPHERA, we celebrate the implementation of the construction regulations and sustainable requirements for construction in Nosara as a community effort for the comprehensive conservation of Nosara, especially with the areas of direct impact on the Ostional National Wildlife Refuge. Teahouse is a good case study of how to integrate design with sustainability.

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