The Casa Rosabaya was conceived from a specific geometric limitation: creating twelve bedrooms, all with a view of the water, on a plot that only has a 37-meter frontage to the sea.
This lot is located on the first line of Playa Cosón, just five minutes from Las Terrenas, on the Samaná peninsula. The land extends for approximately 100 meters in depth from this narrow strip of sand. Due to a sixty-meter setback from the high tide line, the buildable area is even more restricted. Additionally, the water table is about one meter below the surface.
The clients, two partners who managed to acquire the last available lot in the bay, wanted a summer house that could also generate revenue through rentals for large groups, weddings, and events. Despite the great ambition, the budget was limited, which meant that the sea view ceased to be a certainty and became an aspect the project needed to guarantee.
To solve this issue, the house was not designed as a single block. Instead, it unfolds into asymmetrical volumes displaced relative to each other. This arrangement allows each section to maintain an unobstructed line of sight to the horizon, while a wide concrete roof with inverted beams unifies the complex. These setbacks created courtyards, walkways, and landscaped areas, allowing vegetation to become an integral part of the project, and not just the surroundings. Internal circulation occurs outdoors.
Spread over 1,407 square meters and distributed across two floors, the rooms are smaller than the usual standard for tourist villas. This strategic decision reallocated the excess area to spaces crucial for rental dynamics, such as a central courtyard equipped with a pool and jacuzzi situated between the two wings, a 300-square-meter terrace, and two kitchens and living/dining rooms that lack windows, as there was no glass for enclosure. It is important to note that no room has a direct view of another.
The residence has a capacity to accommodate twenty-eight people.
The design incorporates elements of Dominican vernacular architecture, but reinterprets them in a contemporary style. The eaves were sized to provide shade to the openings during the day. The use of *cobogó*, a classic feature of tropicalism, ensures air ventilation, keeps insects away, and casts soft light onto the floors. The material selection remained concise and monochromatic, using gray cement, gray plaster, and local wood.
The cement was transformed into its own field of experimentation, being worked with local labor to shape countertops, the main staircase, internal and external cladding, living room seating, and even sinks. To protect the structure against the water table, the entire volume was raised by 1.40 meters, which also facilitated leveling the ground floor with the garden and made electrical and sanitary installations accessible for maintenance.
The final result is more like a covered landscape than a simple building of rooms. When situated in the entrance courtyard, the view traverses the entire length of the house, passing through the garden, the beach, and reaching the Caribbean Sea. The breeze follows the same path. Completed in 2021, Casa Rosabaya demonstrates the limits of how open a coastal residence can be to the climate while maintaining full functionality for hospitality purposes.