Members Only
Please join as a member and click "Members Only" to read more complete articles and exclusive content.
➤ Photos by Anders Hviid
Vipp Todos Santos
Why do some buildings stir a deep, almost instinctive longing to be inhabited and experienced? The answer may lie in Vipp Todos Santos—a guesthouse set within a rare coastal desert oasis in the Mexican town of Todos Santos. As the Danish design brand’s first hospitality project outside of Europe, the property was realized in collaboration with Mexico City-based architecture studio PPAA, who used rammed earth to extend the language of the desert into built form. Three freestanding volumes continuously frame a central courtyard, linked by stepped terraces, staggered levels, and broad platforms that foster a sense of intimacy through openness. Responding to the coastal town’s cultural rhythms and undulating landscape, the architecture balances clean lines and diffuse light, shaping a spatial typology where vernacular tradition and contemporary ecological sensitivity coexist. The result is a guesthouse experience that is both immersive and expansive—a place where architecture and landscape are intricately interwoven.
➤ Photos by Anders Hviid
➤ Photos by Anders Hviid
➤ Photos by Anders Hviid
➤ Photos by Anders Hviid
“This project came together in a remarkably organic way—it’s also our first guesthouse in North America,” shares Sofie Christensen Egelund, third-generation co-owner of Vipp. Each of our guesthouses is defined by a unique identity, yet deeply rooted in its setting, offering guests opportunities to connect with nature and engage with the local culture. This sensibility resonated with Pablo Pérez Palacios, founder of PPAA, whose connection to Todos Santos began fifteen years ago. Despite his familiarity with the area, returning to the site alongside the Vipp team allowed him to experience it again—this time through shared eyes. As the Vipp team encountered the place for the first time, Pablo found himself rediscovering its vast desert terrain and layered cultural history in tandem with them, captivated by its richness. While both sides shared a belief in minimalism and a deep respect for nature, subtle cultural distinctions emerged throughout the design process. Rather than suppress these differences, PPAA embraced them—integrating the entire Vipp product universe into the architecture through a material palette of local resources, muted tones, and semi-open spatial thresholds. The result is a hybrid design language that embodies the warmth of Mexican craft and the clarity of Danish minimalism.
➤ Photos by Martien Mulder
➤ Photos by Martien Mulder
➤ Photos by Martien Mulder
➤ Photos by Martien Mulder
Spanning approximately 1,280 square meters—350 indoors and 930 outdoors—the architecture unfolds in concert with the rolling contours of the coastal desert. The blurred boundaries between interior and exterior are choreographed through a generous sunken courtyard that connects the main structure to two guest room volumes positioned at the site’s edges. Guests are invited to meander freely across the exterior stairways and terraces, fully immersed in the surrounding natural environment. Even under the intense midday sun, the shaded rooftop pergolas provide long, uninterrupted views—spaces for unhurried conversations and quiet repose. At the top of the main building, a circular pool opens to a horizon-wide vista, where earth meets sky in a seamless sweep, offering a meditative point of connection with the surrounding landscape. Constructed from site-sourced materials, the building utilizes rammed earth for its thermal mass—naturally regulating interior temperatures and aligning with the region’s arid climate. From façade to finish, the structure maintains a cohesive organic texture, grounding it within the land. Slender openings cleanly punctuate the earthen walls, and louvered shutters handwoven from local Palo de Arco branches filter light and air with a tactile softness. These architectural details create an atmosphere where light animates the interiors over the course of the day and ventilation flows gently, reinforcing the building’s passive environmental responsiveness.
➤ Photos by Anders Hviid
➤ Photos by Anders Hviid
➤ Photos by Anders Hviid
➤ Photos by Anders Hviid
The interiors were shaped through a close collaboration between Vipp, Copenhagen-based designer Julie Cloos Molsgaard, and the PPAA team. Outfitted entirely with Vipp furnishings—both indoor and outdoor—the space includes the latest V3 anodized aluminum kitchen system, which anchors the communal area with quiet confidence. Throughout, the deliberate tension between engineered precision and handmade detail pays homage to local craftsmanship while upholding Vipp’s ethos of functional minimalism. “I believe that architecture today must be more deeply rooted in nature than ever before, and accountable to its environmental impact,” says Pablo Pérez Palacios. Vipp Todos Santos embodies this conviction—a dwelling that reconciles contemporary life, ecological awareness, and cultural depth. It encourages guests to slow down, to gather informally, to share a meal beneath the open sky, and to experience, through architecture, the layered identity of Todos Santos across terrain, tradition, and time.
➤ Photos by Anders Hviid
➤ Photos by Anders Hviid
➤ Photos by Anders Hviid
➤ Photos by Anders Hviid
