A forest for a Moon Dazzler / Benjamin Garcia Saxe 27 May 2010 By Nico Saieh — Filed under : Houses , Selected , Benjamin Garcia Saxe , Costa Rica , Steel , Wood © Courtesy of Benjamin Garcia SaxeArchitect : Benjamin Garcia SaxeLocation : Guanacaste , Costa RicaType : ResidentialBudget : 40 , 000 USDProject Year : 2010 Photographs : Courtesy of Benjamin Garcia Saxe She wakes up when the moon is going down . The loud noise of the crickets reminds her that she is surrounded by the forest . The warmth of the rising sun filters through the leaves and warms the rough wood floors . She knows its time to make bread . The chirping has changes to bird singing . The stove heats the air and the smell seeps through every crack into the forest . © Courtesy of Benjamin Garcia SaxeMy mom goes outside to take a shower under the water tank and suddenly a sporadic rain mingles with her drops . She runs into the house and dries up with the heat of the stove . I wake up and realize that its morning . The sun is up and there is fresh bread on the table . I can see that my mom is planting an aloe vera plant in the dirt floor of her living room . She somehow knows the perfect place for it to grow . © Courtesy of Benjamin Garcia SaxeThe sunrays begin to hit the tin roof . She opens all doors , all screens , all windows and the wind picks all of her Hindu drapes . I can also see the recently washed blankets waving on a rope that is strung from the two big trees that give shade to the house . The wind picks up the leaves and brings them into the house . My mom is always cleaning but nothing is ever clean . diagrams 02 There is not much to do , but she manages to keep herself busy between Tarot cards , left hand political readings , pot , and a seldom phone call . She moves about the house trying to find a place with a better signal . She has found such a place between the front door and the tree . She has placed a rock there , where she can sit to talk for hours . © Courtesy of Benjamin Garcia SaxeMy mom wants to take me to the beach , but I can see that she is worried about leaving the house alone . She hides some of her most valuable possessions : books , pictures , and the pot . She places a tree branch in front of the entrance , leaves the radio on , and the door wide open . She then screams “ Bye , we ’ ll see you later ” as if there was someone still in the house . To me it seems as if she is saying goodbye to her house , and the house mumbles through the forest as we walk farther and farther away from the radio . floor planWe walk through the forest into the dirt road that reaches the beach - break . My mom goes for a swim in the ocean and after a while sits right next to me to watch the sunset . She is dazzled with the sight even though she has seen it hundreds of times . She explains that we should head back in order to catch the last glimpse of sunrays that will lead the way back to the house . We begin to hear the radio getting louder and louder as we get closer to the house . She checks all her natural alarms that tell her if anyone has been around the house ; from the tree - branch in front of the door to the hanging ceramic fishes that she has placed hanging from the surrounding trees . © Courtesy of Benjamin Garcia SaxeThe sunlight is dimming and soon the forest will be illuminated by the bright moon . She is afraid that darkness will bring an intruder to disturb us . The candles provide a flickering light while she plays the guitar . She prepares a quick meal which is hard to eat because of the lack of light . The moonlight enters the house , and I know that soon she will go to sleep . She has placed her bed in a corner of the house where there is a direct view of the moon while she goes to sleep . She washes her face and wraps her body in soaking towels that lower her body temperature throughout the night . I can see that the moon - sight dazzles her every time and the sound of the crickets put her to sleep . © Courtesy of Benjamin Garcia SaxeEvery once in a while she wakes up in distress by the chirping noise of her natural alarms ; from the carefully placed gravel around the house , to the dry branches that surround her bed . The only thing that gives her comfort is the illuminating sight of the moon moving through the trees . © Courtesy of Benjamin Garcia Saxe © Courtesy of Benjamin Garcia Saxe © Courtesy of Benjamin Garcia Saxe © Courtesy of Benjamin Garcia Saxe © Courtesy of Benjamin Garcia Saxe © Courtesy of Benjamin Garcia Saxe © Courtesy of Benjamin Garcia Saxe © Courtesy of Benjamin Garcia Saxe © Courtesy of Benjamin Garcia Saxe © Courtesy of Benjamin Garcia Saxe © Courtesy of Benjamin Garcia Saxe © Courtesy of Benjamin Garcia Saxe © Courtesy of Benjamin Garcia Saxe © Courtesy of Benjamin Garcia Saxe © Courtesy of Benjamin Garcia Saxe © Courtesy of Benjamin Garcia Saxe © Courtesy of Benjamin Garcia Saxe © Courtesy of Benjamin Garcia Saxe floor plan elevation section 01 sections 02 diagrams 01 diagrams 02