Casa Wabi Tadao Ando’s Monumental Gift to the Oaxacan Coast

Jul 2

Written By Sky

In Puerto Escondido, just a few sandy steps down the beach from Hotel Escondido, Casa Wabi appears like a mirage; a monumental concrete block, an oasis of creativity dissolving into the Mexican sun. Conceived by Mexican artist Bosco Sodi and designed by the legendary Japanese architect Tadao Andō, the foundation is part artist residency, part sustainable farm, part botanical garden, and entirely mesmerising.

The Grounds

A few metres from the shoreline, running parallel to the Pacific coast, stands an immense concrete wall, more than 100 metres long and 3.6 metres high, cleaving the main palapa in two and dividing the property into distinct zones.

On the ocean-facing side, an immense palapa shelters the reception and dining area, elevated to provide a clear view of the long swimming pool stretching towards the sea, while the palm-fringed roof casts a shimmering reflection on the water, lending the whole scene a dreamlike calm.
Behind the wall, on the inland side, lies the core of the Fundación. The southern half houses artist residences and working studios; the northern half contains galleries and performance spaces. The staff guard this zone rather protectively, leading one to imagine the secrets it may hold!

We wandered anyway. Separated from our guide, we drifted into the scrub garden and stumbled upon a scattering of abandoned sculptural blocks. While pondering their meaning and purpose, we got lost! Luckily, the massive wall rose in the distance like a beacon, and like lost children following a stream, we tracked our way back, only to emerge near the artist studios. Our rejoicing at being 'found' was not exactly shared by the artists-in-residence. A young Austrian and an American marched us firmly back to the public zone.

The Art

In 2014, Bosco Sodi founded Casa Wabi in Puerto Escondido to foster interdisciplinary collaboration and social engagement through art. The result is a living, breathing creative ecosystem. Artists in residence are selected under the direction of Patricia Martín, curator of the Colección Museo Jumex, and live and work on site while participating in educational programmes for nearby communities. The compound produces more than art: residents and staff grow food and cotton, fire bricks and ceramics, raise poultry, and maintain an active apiary.

One of the site’s most striking sculptural landmarks is Los Atlantes. Bosco Sodi’s installation comprises sixty-four immense cubes, each measuring seven feet on each side and constructed from 1,600 handcrafted bricks per cube. The bricks were moulded from local clay and fired in Casa Wabi’s own kiln. Their scale is commanding and intended to symbolise both human resilience and the grandeur of nature.

The Gardens

The 27-hectare grounds, which also serve as a botanical garden, are part of a project led by Mexican architect Alberto Kalach. His work across Mexico often brings architecture, ecology and education into close dialogue. Here, he and his team catalogue and protect endemic coastal species, including parota, macuil and majahua, while encouraging environmental stewardship among neighbouring communities.