South Shore Temptations – Green Luxury Living

Interview with Joe Sanchez from Nemi Eco Villa

So much is happening on Puerto Vallarta’s south shore: New 5-star hotels, gorgeous residential condos, stunning beachfront homes, trendy beach clubs and gourmet restaurants to mention just a few. The trend also seems to be moving towards more sustainable living and environmentally conscious development. In this vein, Nemi Eco Villa caught my eye as it is an luxurious eco friendly, small density project made of shipping containers. Read more about how Joe Sanchez and family have made their dream a reality on our south shore!

Where are you from and how long have you been in Puerto Vallarta?

 I was raised in Chicago but my family is from Mazamitla and Ciudad Guzman, both are towns here in Jalisco. I spent my summers in Guadalajara, and many family vacations in Puerto Vallarta. From a young age I had plans of relocating to Puerto Vallarta, knowing it would be a good fit with my background. In June of 2007, my wife and I thought Puerto Vallarta would be a good place to do a project, and we planned a trip the next month. By the end of August that year, we had closed on our first property and by early 2008 we were living here full time.

What is your building background?

My building background began with my father. He was one of the first Mexican builders in the Chicago building industry. His dream for me was that I went to college; so much so, he forbid me to work in construction when I was younger for fear I would prefer the money to an education.

As an architect, my background really began with art. I have been drawing and keeping sketchbooks since I was really young. I enrolled at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in their early college program for oil painting classes. I also had a fascination with science, and thought architecture was a perfect marriage of art and science.

I attended the University of Illinois at the Chicago Campus, where I graduated from the School of Architecture with distinguished honors. I also attended The École Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture de Versailles, in Versailles, France. The gardens at the Palace of Versailles is where my affinity for landscape design originated.

After graduation, I worked with several firms in Chicago, including Lowenberg and Associates, where I was the lead designer on the Park Alexandria, a 32-story high-rise building at the age of 23. I went on to be part of the design team for the Lakeshore East development that was one of the largest in the county at the time.

Up until that point, my work had been focused on the design side, and I really felt that building was necessary for my architectural development. At 26, I decided to be as involved in the building process as design, and opened my own design/building firm, where I have worked for myself ever since. My work in Chicago was varied, and I added developer to my roles, but it wasn’t until working here in Puerto Vallarta that I could really combine architecture, building, and landscape design.

How was the idea of Nemi Eco Villa born?

Nemi is the evolution of a concept, one that started with sketches on the beach in Conchas Chinas 8 years ago. At the time I was in love with the idea of dropping an off-grid home right on the beach. Architecture as a product intrigued me.

When my wife was pregnant with our first child, my view of the world shifted. I began to think of a future where resources will be limited, where things we take for granted might not be so readily available to my son and his generation, and the idea of creating sustainable architecture became my new mission.

The more I researched the more I realized how much we can get from natural sources and older technologies, less damaging to the environment, and even from waste: Ocean water desalination with solar thermal evaporation, biological sand filters for water filtration, and a biodigester for the creation of gas and electricity. My interest moved to more biological architecture, and to contrast this organic process, what better than a steel box.

Shipping containers are amazing building blocks structurally, and their size allows for easy transport. They have become very popular to work with, but using a container just for the sake of using a container defeats the purpose. The idea is to challenge designers and builders to think outside the conventional and to evolve the building process to make use of more sustainable resources, and new building technologies. To put my theories to the test, I had to try it myself. So I built a prototype in Chicago from a shipping container. A completely off-grid tiny-home we call the Mesh (modular ecological sustainable habitat). It took several years, but we brought it here to Puerto Vallarta, and it’s now the Chicago Pod at Nemi.

A luxury villa is 180 degrees from where I started, but it became obvious to me that for the mainstream to embrace sustainable concepts, they would need to see it as a luxury, not a sacrifice. I also thought that being able to experience a fully sustainable living experience temporarily, on a vacation where you tend to be more open minded, would create more converts to the green movement.

What is your greatest challenge as a builder in the tropics?

The greatest challenge is the raining season. You never really know how bad it’s going to be, it creates a lot of unknowns that have a big effect on construction schedules and budget. Heavy rains can also change the soil condition of your project very quickly; you really have to plan on being out of the ground by the time the rains start. Another challenge is finding materials to withstand the salty air. I strive to find products that are sustainable, and don’t need constant replacement or up-keep.

What does your future hold?

Our company, Max T Living Systems, is about to begin a new development in the downtown area. Prefabricated homes built using steel frames and clad with conventional materials that in themselves are sustainable. The next project is a departure from the shipping container. Mexico does not have the surplus you find in the US due to trade imbalance; therefore it’s not truly a sustainable or recycled product here in Mexico. We are also working to implement on site trash processing in our developments, by means of separation of organic waste to be used to supply gas and power to the inhabitants, and non-organic for recycling.

We are lucky to be here in Mexico as we have more creative freedom than the US or Canada because here the construction industry is not as rigid. Off grid and alternate construction methods are not allowed in many cities in the US due to zoning restrictions. Our prefabricated modules are designed to be indistinguishable from conventional construction but have the added benefits of pragmatics such as building schedule and sustainability, nearing a net zero mark for efficiency in power consumption and energy production through solar power.

Your opinion on construction growth in the south shore?

Development can be a polarizing topic here in Puerto Vallarta. Many people would like to see the town return to its former self. But that is not realistic in a city that lives and dies on tourism and the construction industry. Development brings jobs and valuable investment dollars.

I think a lot of people have taken on a personal mission to stop development, as they don’t see it as “responsible” unless it is low density. The reverse is actually true; high-density low footprint projects are what is responsible, as this has a lesser impact on the environment than the sprawling developments you see in suburbia.

The new highway will inevitably bring much more development to the south shore, arguably one of the most picturesque areas in Puerto Vallarta. I embrace it and see it as a positive opportunity for our beautiful city. I believe new developments need to be contextual, innovative and sustainable, and I hope to see projects in the south shore that put a positive spotlight on innovative sustainable design and development.

by Nicole Martin