ALMA is a residential community located on a hillside property of 36,092 m2, on the oceanfront, in Bahías de Huatulco, Oaxaca, Mexico. The master plan counts 46 properties —36 villas and 10 condos—, all with Pacific Ocean views. The amenities featured are 2 large swimming pools, a gym, a wellness center, a lobby and a concierge office.
It was designed by the architects Jose Juan Rivera Rio and Modica-Ledezma in 2023 to respond to a tropical climate and earthquakes, to aesthetically blend with the lush landscape and to offer a modern and comfortable indoor-outdoor living experience.
ALMA has been under construction since March 2025.
GENESIS
ALMA is an arquitectural residencial community developed by French couple Frederic Baron and Noemie Bourdin-Habert, founders of development firm Esencia Desarrollos, in Bahías de Huatulco, Oaxaca, Mexico.
Frederic, passionate about architecture, has a long track record in real estate sales and development, and he also was an architectural photographer for close to a decade prior to developing. Noemie is passionate about design, arts and nature, has an international background and a long track record in renewable energies and sustainability.
Naturally, when they met, the idea of joining their careers to promote modern architecture within the framework of a sustainable community was an idea that resonated enough for the couple to leave France and look for a place in the world that could become the perfect shell for the project. It couldn’t work in a saturated market nor in a place that’s environmentally devastated. It couldn’t work in a place where there isn’t an infrastructure in place already, and neither could it in a place where there’s no demand yet. So they scouted over 15 countries together to finally decide that Mexico was their best candidate and that’s after discovering the coast of Oaxaca that they thought it would best match their vision.
Unfortunately, in this region of the world, where nature is incredibly diverse, generous and abundant, constructions, especially middle to upper class residential developments, can be repetitive, unadapted and violent by essence. Following some of the precepts of the indigenous that once built entire villages organically, humbly and almost invisibly, felt like a necessity.
ALMA, which means “soul” in Spanish, was born from this assessment, and a rooted desire from the developers to build a community with a soul. A desire to demonstrate that it is possible to develop an environmentally respectful residential complex, while promoting modern architecture and elevating how one experiences life in the tropics.
We, the developers, are the ones personally submitting our project in this category.
And this is the story of our vision.
1- THE LOCATION
Choosing Bahías de Huatulco, in Oaxaca, was not a coincidence nor just a crush. Above all it was a choice of reason for our project, ALMA.
The beach town, depending on the colonial county of Santa Maria Huatulco, was created as late as in 1984 by the Mexican Government (through FONATUR — the national fund for tourism) to become one of the top beach resort towns of the country. That being said, their experience from founding Cancún, Ixtapa or Cabos, triggered the need of developing the first sustainable prototype beach town, based on a low density, low height urban planning, and a world class infrastructure.
With boulevards planned to receive a large number of visitors, efficient water treatment plants, a strict urban planning, different urban zoning depending on the areas, and 70% of the city now being dedicated to the protection of biodiversity by means of National Parks, Bahías de Huatulco can’t grow much larger, which makes it attractive to clients looking for a pristine environment, natural surroundings and preserved landscapes. It has now become one of the hubs for eco-tourism in the country.
Hosting one of the largest biodiversities in the country due to its old low deciduous forests —lush and dense in summer and close to arid in winter—, and its topography ranging from 0 to 3,000 meters above sea level, Huatulco has always attracted a lot of nature lovers, and as a developer, our goal was for ALMA, to attract nature lovers with a taste for modern architecture.
But as in any trendy beach town, the construction, real estate, and tourism industries are threatening the local biodiversity and can have devastating consequences. National regulations in place are often old and unadapted to the world we live in, which makes the personal and professional commitment the only way of progressing towards environmental and social responsibility.
ALMA is designed on a 36,092m2 lot facing south / south-east on the oceanfront, where, per regulations it is allowed to build 83 properties and 16 meters of height. With that in mind, we personally took the decision to create only 46 properties, among which 36 villas and 10 condos and build at a maximum of 11 meters of height to remain below tree line.
At the time of designing ALMA’s masterplan, our brief to the architect was to design :
46 properties with ocean views
wellness amenities that truly help reconnect to nature, to ourselves and help promote social bonds;
roads to be able to drive to each property because of the heat and the slope
a master plan that truly follows the topography of the lot.
In total, when adding the properties, amenities, roads and infrastructure, this is around 23,000m2 of constructions on the entire lot, meaning around one third of native green spaces, which are not being cut at all, but left growing around properties during the entire process of construction.
2- FROM THE SPECIFICITIES AND CONSTRAINTS TO THE MASTERPLAN
Bahías de Huatulco is located in the south of Mexico’s Pacific Coast.
It experiences a warm sub-humid climate, meaning it is never as wet as a rainforest, but never totally dry enough to be considered arid either. While not being totally one or the other, it does look like a Costa Rican rainforest in the summer and a Greek island in the winter. This gives Huatulco an interesting mix of green color in summer and brown to grey color in winter.
It rains in average only 40 days a year between June and October, however, the rain is most often torrential with up to 700mm a month in September. In June 2025, for example, Hurricane Erick caused 250mm of rain in just 24 hours. The soil of the region being very dry between November and May, it is not rare to see landslides, mudslides, or floods during the rainy season.
It is a hurricane prone region. And even though its location on the corner of the Gulf of Tehuantepec makes it a lot more protected than the rest of the Pacific Coast, winds can be strong during the passage of hurricane tails.
Bahías de Huatulco, and specifically “La Crucecita”, its town center, are a strong seismic epicenter of the Pacific Ring of Fire. Mild earthquakes are frequent, strong earthquakes happen every few years, and major quakes could happen in the future.
In addition to these specificities, tropical areas are vulnerable to mosquito diseases. Dengue strikes all year long and the use of mosquito nets, repelling plants and the avoidance of stagnating water are absolutely necessary for long term stays.
As to the land that hosts ALMA, it is located between a loop road and the ocean, on a lot that includes two hills, a steep canyon and slopes to the ocean. It is barely visible from the road, which conveys a lot of privacy. It is surrounded by national parks to the west and the north, enhances privacy but implies a higher level of responsibility when it comes to sustainability, water consumption, forest fire safety, etc.
All the points aforementioned inspired a resilient and organic master plan created to handle a strong climate, region’s seismic specificities, a complex topography, as well as the challenges of the future.
3- THE MASTERPLAN ARCHITECTURAL RESPONSE
ALMA is a signature community nestled between the mountains and the ocean and surrounded by highly protected national parks to the west and the north. We, as developers, felt a high visual, social and environmental responsibility and decided to commit to a reasonable and respectful residencial development.
And on a higher purpose point of view, we wanted ALMA’s masterplan to offer our community owners a perfect balance between an incredibly easy connectivity (an international airport is located just 20 minutes away) and a perfect disconnection from the urban world. A balance between an indoor and outdoor lives, between a minimalist architecture and the warmth of Mexico.
We chose our architects very carefully both for the quality of their designs, and their capacity to listen to the surrounding environment in order to underscore the landscape instead of competing with it. It meant designing an architecture without ego, which is sufficiently silent and transparent to let nature be the protagonist, all while offering a welcoming and luxurious experience of indoor-outdoor living to the end user.
With a deep respect for the surrounding environment and a dedication to enhancing personal well-being, Jose Juan Rivera Rio (JJRR/Arquitectura), in tied collaboration with Módica-Ledezma, designed the masterplan, the amenities, and the the 46 signature properties that compose ALMA.
A — From an aesthetic standpoint, as developers, we committed to creating ALMA’s masterplan to integrate seamlessly and almost invisibly into the landscape, creating a gentle transition between the beach town and the protected national parks. The vision proposed by the architect therefore responds to a pursuit of transparency and visual integration.
The materials used for the buildings reflect a structural lightness and aim for continuity through transparent facades. Pure lines impart a sense of weightlessness to the overall design. In addition, the color palette of the residence seeks sobriety and neutral native tones that support the overall vision of a transparent community, such as the grey of the steel that mirrors the trunks of “Cuachalalate” and “Cojón de Caballo” or the green roofs that entirely blend with the lush summer vegetation.
Private properties are linked among them by horizontal steel beams that give a sense of horizontality to the masterplan. We’ve named them “squirrel highways” for they additionally provide the native fauna a secure path above ground, and the owners an easy way to observe it, similar to squirrels using telephone cables in the cities, for everyone’s enjoyment.
The precise location of the private residences was carefully chosen to follow the topographic lines and will be built in the slope, therefore reducing the amount of excavation but also reducing the need for high constructions. The commitment was that the highest buildings wouldn’t exceed the height of the tree line. The addition of natural green roofs on all private properties adds to the transparency of the design and preserves the views from above, whether it is from an amenity or a private property.
The streets of the property were also designed following topographic lines, in order to both minimize excavation and major changes to the land shape, and to provide better commodity for the end user, minimizing slopes. They will not be shared with pedestrians so they do not contemplate sidewalks. Instead, they were designed narrow with the intention to maximize the number of native trees on the premises. As for the pedestrian paths, they will be designed naturally and organically. Here, we inspired ourselves from city parks’ architects that let people organically create their favorite way of going from point A to B for a few months before designing paths that follow people’s real needs.
The amenities were designed to cater different needs, preferences, and moods. The swimming pool and the gym are shared areas, with sufficient space to meet other members of the diverse community (already 7 nationalities and ages ranging from 27 to 77 years old have bought into ALMA) and make social bonds. A 33-meter-long lap pool will be levitating above the cliff at the south western point of the masterplan, in the most scenic area of the lot, overlooking the cliff, the ocean and Huatulco’s lighthouse. This iconic area was designed to be shared by all rather than privatized in order for it to operate like a magnet and be a place of social interaction. It was also moved two meters south in order to spare 2 of the tallest trees of the property. The wellness center, by opposition, will be privatized upon reservation, and is where to reconnect with oneself, find peace, and silence.
The entrance has been designed using the topography of a shallow canyon on the north west corner of the lot as an advantage. It is created as a bridge under which are placed the staff common areas, the concierge, reception and offices. It is also designed to be inviting rather than defensive.
The low density we committed to allowed for ample space between the different constructions, keep a world of native biodiversity in between them, and genuinely preserve the intimacy of the owners. The connection between architecture and nature is visible throughout the entire masterplan.
B — On a social and environmental point of view, our request to the architect was for the masterplan to minimize its impact on the environment without losing the warmth of the Mexican Modern Architecture, as well as provide a real economic downfall for the local community.
This is not a requirement from an institution, but a commitment from us, the developers, towards the community where we’ve chosen to establish ALMA. We chose Huatulco because it had a sustainable DNA and long term vision of eco-tourism. The town already received multiple awards and certifications from blue flag, earth check, and more.
Water is one of the most precious and endangered resources of our planet, and this is especially true for hot countries like Mexico. Therefore, ALMA has invested in its own water treatment plant from Biorotor, a French company leader in the technology, allowing all grey waters and black waters to be treated and reused for the drip irrigation of the entire property. Its cistern storage of 172m3 minimizes the need for drinkable water which is still commonly used for irrigation in most areas of the country and the world, unfortunately.
In addition, using around 90% of native species minimizes the actual need for irrigation, as the endemic plants from the low deciduous forest can naturally resist 6 to 8 months of severe draught every year. Species that remain green all along the dry season have been identified and marked on the lot in order to be preserved or relocated in other areas of the masterplan, providing natural shade all year long, and reducing the temperatures of the residence.
All car streets are made of permeable concrete pavers, reducing the common seasonal torrencial water runoffs. This minimizes the risks of flooding and landslides while increasing the soil absorption, crucial for local aquifers.
The highest building on the masterplan will feature solar panels on the rooftop that will power amenities, while all other properties will benefit from green roofs to help them cool down naturally and minimize the use of air conditioning, which is by far the most energy-consuming appliance under these latitudes. Green roofs also provide an excellent pollination area and helps minimizing the loss of insect diversity all while reducing the temperatures within the buildings.
Amenities provided at ALMA include a wellness center, a concierge, 2 large salt water swimming pools, a gymnasium and a shuttle to other nearby beaches, because they are amenities that are not commonly found in the town of Huatulco.
However, restaurants, ATM, beauty salons, gas stations, cinema, bars, and shops are commonly available in the town center, just 4 minutes away from ALMA. Therefore, it was decided to not compete with them, and leave the major economic downfall to the city.
This initiative sustains the creation of services, businesses and jobs and allows ALMA to give back to the community. ALMA was never designed as an all-inclusive resort. On the contrary, Huatulco is a stunning and safe area of the world, located in an incredibly diverse State and we personally wanted to invite ALMA’s future owners to dare discovering it, so they can actually fall in love with it and become part of the community instead of remaining aliens.
In order to encourage a more sustainable and healthier mobility, only bike and e-bike parkings are available around amenities. For those with lower mobility however, golf carts pickups will be available upon request from the concierge of the residence.
Over half of our masterplan is a one way street as clusters A and B (featuring apartment buildings and villas), are made in a system of “roundabout” so 2 cars will never need to cross paths. The other roads are made of only one single lane with the addition of passing bays. This road design allows the preservation of at least 30 mature tall trees.
C — On a technical standpoint, the masterplan, all of the properties and the amenities needed to take into account the seismicity of the area, its hurricane potential, a very dry and a a very wet seasons, high temperatures, a strong salinity of the air, and a rather complex landscape.
All of the infrastructure of the masterplan, from the roads to the amenities and private units are built following anti-seismic regulations (up to magnitude 9), and no swimming pool has been placed above any living areas, avoiding the damaged caused by potential waves during earthquakes and subsequent infiltrations.
Although hurricanes have not made landfall on the Gulf of Tehuantepec, all windows and sliding doors are made of tempered glass. Contravents are placed under all of the overhanging roofs, and anti-hurricane shutters will be proposed as an option to owners for their main facade.
The heat and humidity can be strong in the summer (up to 37-38º Celsius and 700mm of rain in a month) and they’re doubled with a strong salinity and humidity in the air. For these reasons we made the choice of avoiding the latest innovative materials or gadgets that do not have a long track record in these conditions and/or do not provide after sales service in our region. Materials chosen are instead duly treated and resistant, especially steel beams, wood, and electrical appliances. This is also the reason why some of the latest home automation systems have not been integrated into the property, preferring resilient, easy-maintenance and mechanical systems over electrical ones.
High temperatures are being minimized thanks, in outdoor areas, to the amount of shade given by native trees, and in indoor areas, to the supersizing of overhanging roofs, cross ventilation, and the presence of green roofs reducing the temperatures by up to 4ºC of the below areas.
The hilly landscape of ALMA has provided an incredible terrain of inspiration for the architects. The masterplan is entirely conceived in 3 dimensions. All properties have an ocean view above the ones located below them, so the lower properties are closer to the ocean but the higher ones have a broader view, and roads have been designed following the levels of the land in order to minimize steep slopes. Once again within ALMA’s masterplan, the views are protagonists and the architecture underscores them, frames them. Only the wellness center, meaningfully placed at the heart of the residence, will be built semi-subterranean in order to provide a contrasting atmosphere of self-connection and hyper privacy.
Even though the architecture of ALMA is anchored in the Mexican Modern Architecture style, its masterplan itself sort of modernizes some of the teachings of the indigenous’ village organization and vernacular architecture, such as the visual integration, the use of the shade of native trees, the following of topography, the minimizing of land impact or the living under a vegetal roof (from palm thatch back then to green roofs now).
D — ALMA is a residencial community, and therefore, it is depending on a commercial strategy, which is why the masterplan also needed to respond to a certain market demand and respect a certain mix of pricing, size, amenities, quality, or views, accounting for other constraints on top of the technical and environmental ones.
Mexico is in trend, there’s no doubt about it, but Huatulco is still little known compared to Cancún, Tulum, Cabos, Puerto Vallarta, Acapulco or Punta Mita. However because it benefits from amazing conditions of landscape, climate, safety and pricing, it is more and more attractive to a Mexican and foreign clientele, and this allowed us to propose another type of development for the city, one that would normally be promoted in one of the above mentioned areas, that are more historical tourist hubs.
Clients of Huatulco typically purchase a second home in which they hope to spend between 5 and 10 consecutive months out of the year, so one of the most important commercial criteria was for ALMA to be a place that’s comfortable year round.
Most of the Mexican coastal oceanfront properties and residences are either conceived entirely open or built like concrete boxes without shade or greenery. The first ones are often designed by renowned architects and are a model of nature integration, but they’re only ideal for short stays, lacking glass windows, mosquito screens, or equipped kitchens that make a house fit for long term stays in this environment. By opposition, the second ones are often the result of a fast-development of a city, and respond mostly to profit. They’re designed around stunning views, filled with amenities, but without shade, without native flora. They’re usually not resilient, depend on the air conditioning all year long, and unfortunately, often alter the original coastal landscapes, forever.
The market being a little different in Huatulco, and even more so since the pandemic, ALMA was conceived as a residence compatible with year round living but resilient to all tropical seasons, allowing the end user to stay as long as they want.
To conclude, we believe that in the future, all of the above will make of ALMA a solid and conscious community instead of just a place of passage. So far, a good proportion of our current clientele has already invested in ALMA in order to reside permanently, and our hope is that our commitment will offer an example of a more sustainable and resilient modern living.
