RA! designs Laiva Plaza hotel in San José del Cabo with climate-responsive architecture

Issue 88 of Glocal Design Magazine examines sustainability as a system reshaping contemporary architectural practice. The publication features projects, interviews, and key voices offering perspectives on design through climate, territory, materials, and social responsibility. In San José del Cabo, where arid climate meets ocean proximity, Laiva Plaza emerges as a contextual response designed by RA! and developed by Grupo Laiva. The boutique hotel integrates with urban fabric through a public atrium providing shade, ventilation, and transition spaces crucial for the region's heat and solar radiation. A vertical central courtyard functions as a climate regulator, enabling natural light and cross-ventilation through passive strategies. The building's stepped volumetry respects the historic center's scale while rhythmic elements reference local papel picado decorations. Mixed-use ground floors activate street relationships, two levels contain private rooms, and a roof garden offers urban views. Craft stucco provides warm materiality in this architecture translating local climate, culture, and daily life into spatial experience.