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Mexico Design & Style
The Series
By Karen Witynski & Joe P. CarrRESTORING A MEXICAN HACIENDA
In the late '90s we became captivated by the richness of the Yucatan region's hacienda architecture and the history of its multilayered civilizations. Trailing through myriad Maya villages and down overgrown dirt paths, we encountered many hacienda revivals in full force, as well as dormant treasures untouched by modern hands. While researching our second design book, The New Hacienda, the idea of rescuing a hacienda from ruin and bringing it back to life took firm root - we were on a quest for a colonial hacienda that showed potential for restoration.
In early 2000, Hacienda Petac found us. An 18th-century estate in close proximity to Mérida, Hacienda Petac was a colonial cattle hacienda before its conversion to a henequen plantation in the late 1800s. Unlike many of the peninsula's haciendas that were altered over time, Petac's architectural integrity was surprisingly intact, without any 20th-century alterations. The fact that Petac predates many Yucatan haciendas that were built during the henequen boom of the late 19th-century endows the estate with a rich colonial history. The juxtaposition of the colonial casa principal to its later-built 19th-century casa de máquina created a unique testimonial to Yucatan's diverse hacienda epochs.
Despite its critical need for a new roof and massive facelift, Petac's potential for revival was immediately apparent. We saw a jewel in the overgrown jungle - rich in original architectural elements and design details that had been essentially unaltered through time: baroque stone entrance arches, stucco ornamentation, exquisite Moorish-style arcades, interior wall stencils and hand-turned spindles on windows and doors. A stone lime kiln once used for making lime plaster and stucco was also intact. The property was comprised of numerous worker's buildings, a chapel, water storage tanks, and a stone aqueduct system once used for orchard and field irrigation. The presence of some existing infrastructure (water, electricity, good roads) was an added attraction. The combination of these unique elements on a single property prompted us to consider the hacienda's value as a future showcase for Mexican design and hacienda restoration.
In the spring of 2000, we teamed up with fellow Mexico enthusiasts, Dev and Chuck Stern to partner a future for Petac. As a foursome, our shared passions for Mexican history elevated the project into a dream in the making. From the beginning, our vision was to preserve Petac's architectural legacy. We wanted to create a venue for educating homeowners and designers in the spirit and details of an authentic 18th-century hacienda, while also forging a comfortable retreat that would hail the original richness and splendor of the Yucatan lifestyle. To these ends, we have sought unique antiques and elements that would best echo the hacienda's origins and reflect its rural surroundings. We imagined a place where homeowners and designers could come to discover architectural restoration and building techniques, Mexican antiques and local design resources-all a step away from the estate's luxurious pools and gardens.
With these goals in mind, we devised an overall vision for the property that would accommodate our dual missions. The casa principal would be used as a library and as common space for entertaining and dining. The machine house would be renovated for guest suites, an owner's apartment and a 1,200 square-foot billiards room. Additional guest rooms and Mexican Design Center would be housed in revitalized buildings adjacent to the casa principal. The nearby village was a significant asset in the plan, providing local labor and staffing for hacienda projects.
Read the complete article . . .
Series Index & Introduction
Published monthly. ISSN #1028-9089
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