October 31, 2025
Las Catalinas, the only car free Town in Guanacaste, Costa Rica, was part of a special moment of recognition this past weekend. One of the architectural firms that has helped shape Town, Castillo Arquitectos, was recently honored with a Design Excellence Award in the Mixed Use Project Category by The Urban Guild.
This award celebrates the talent and vision of architect Eduardo Castillo Cortés and his team, and also reinforces the values that have guided Las Catalinas from the very beginning: people centered urbanism, timeless design, and respect for place. Rooted in the principles of New Urbanism, Las Catalinas was envisioned as a Town designed for people rather than cars, where daily life unfolds within walkable streets, vibrant plazas, and a strong sense of community.
The recognition of Plaza del Mercado Flats, a set of three mixed use buildings located in Beach Town, highlights how thoughtful architecture can create beauty and functionality in harmony with its surroundings. It is also a moment to reflect on how the design philosophy of Las Catalinas continues to inspire architects and planners to create places that nurture connection and belonging.
A VISION OF HUMAN SCALE ARCHITECTURE
Led by Guatemalan architect Eduardo Castillo Cortés, Castillo Arquitectos has spent more than fifteen years designing projects that prioritize the environment, public life, and the human scale. The firm’s philosophy is simple yet profound: architecture should serve the place, the project, and the people who inhabit it. As Castillo himself has said, “We are not trying to create iconic architecture, but the right architecture, what is best for the place, for the project, and for the user who will live with it every day.”
Over the years, Castillo Arquitectos has been recognized with several awards, including two Charter Awards and the Prix de Versailles, among others. For more than a decade, the firm has contributed to shaping the built fabric of Las Catalinas, with the design of five homes and three buildings located in Beach Town, the lively area that faces Playa Danta. Among these works stands Plaza del Mercado Flats, a project that perfectly represents the union between architecture, urban design, and community life.
PLAZA DEL MERCADO FLATS: WHERE ARCHITECTURE MEETS LIFE
Plaza del Mercado Flats consists of three buildings that stand along Plaza Mercado, one of the most active and picturesque areas of Beach Town. The buildings embrace the plaza and its central splash pad, creating an ensemble that feels open, welcoming, and connected. Together they form an edge that defines the public space without enclosing it, framing daily life in Town as people move through, gather, and enjoy.
What makes this project remarkable is how it brings together commercial and residential uses in a way that strengthens community life. The ground floors host local businesses that open directly onto the plaza, and have a direct dialogue with the restaurants right across the plaza. Above them, the residences extend vertically, allowing people to live just above the rhythm of public life. It is an everyday coexistence between living, working, and meeting, a living expression of mixed use design.
The three buildings that make up Plaza del Mercado Flats are located on the left-hand side of Beach Town, just behind Plaza Mercado. Their rear façades face east, while their main façades open to the west, toward the plaza and the afternoon sun. This orientation is key to understanding how the buildings relate both to their immediate context and to the local climate.
The first building sits to the south of Paseo Palmeras and is separated from the second building by a wide stairway that aligns perfectly with the central façade of a nearby residence and connects directly to one edge of the splash pad in Plaza Mercado. After this broad stairway come buildings two and three, completing the ensemble.
The first stairway, approximately six meters wide, is framed by planters that create a graceful transition between the public plaza below and the more private residential areas above. The second, narrower stairway links the plaza level to the upper floors and features a covered passage that connects buildings two and three. This passage, which exists only on the lower level, feels like a bridge and is framed by a grand cross vault, creating an iconic moment of arrival from building three to building two.
This thoughtful composition responds to the topography of the site. The plaza lies approximately four meters below the second floor of the buildings, creating a natural division between commercial and residential life without disconnecting them. From the plaza, the ensemble appears to rise gently, maintaining a human scale and embracing the existing topography.
From the splash pad to the nearby restaurants such as Pots and Bowls, Tamaki, and Papagayo Brewing Company, every element in this part of Town is designed to foster connection. Plaza del Mercado Flats is not only a group of buildings but a framework for daily life. It is a place where architecture becomes the stage for human interaction.
DESIGNING WITH PLACE IN MIND
A mixed use project is often defined simply as one that combines commercial and residential uses within the same building. But the real meaning of mixed use design goes far beyond that definition. It lies in how these different functions interact with the public realm and with the landscape around them.
In Plaza del Mercado Flats, this relationship is tangible. The architecture establishes a continuous dialogue with its context, both visually and physically. The façades of the ground floors are set back, creating shaded galleries that allow visitors to walk comfortably, protected from the sun and rain. These arcades blur the threshold between public and private, making the commercial spaces in the first floors feel like extensions of the plaza itself.
This gesture is not only aesthetic but also climatic. Since the façades face west, they are exposed to the afternoon sun. The recessed design helps to reduce direct heat gain, improving comfort for both shop owners and visitors. It also reinforces the architectural identity of the buildings, emphasizing rhythm, proportion, and openness.
Behind this careful design is a respect for the environment and for the comfort of those who inhabit it. The architecture adapts to the tropical climate of the Guanacaste coast, providing shelter and shade while maintaining visual continuity between interior and exterior spaces.
RESPECTING HUMAN SCALE AND CONTEXT
Seen from above, the buildings of Plaza del Mercado Flats extend back into the slope. This design strategy allows for deeper residential units without increasing the overall height of the buildings. From the rear, each structure appears to have only two levels, preserving the sense of intimacy and proportion that defines the architecture of Las Catalinas.
The New Urbanism principles that inspired the master plan of Town, walkability, the intertwining of public and private spaces, prioritization of views and also privacy, are visible in every line of the project. Windows and doors that face the plaza are tall and open, connecting the interior life of homes and businesses with the outdoors. On the upper floors, terraces become quiet retreats where residents can enjoy views toward the ocean, the sunset, and the plaza below.
In contrast, the windows on the back façades are smaller and placed with precision to ensure privacy while allowing natural light and ventilation. Inside, the layout reinforces the dual nature of the building. Living rooms, kitchens, and dining areas open to the public side, while bedrooms are located toward the more private rear. This creates a balance between openness and refuge, between community and individuality.
Each architectural decision reflects a deep respect for proportion and for the comfort of those who inhabit these spaces. The ground floor, which connects directly to the public realm, is taller than the upper residential levels. As the building rises, the floor heights decrease subtly. This hierarchy gives importance to the public space and ensures that the overall height of the ensemble remains gentle and human in scale.
As Douglas Duany, one of the academics and practitioners involved in the conception of the master plan of Las Catalinas, explains, “It is highly responsive to topography, incorporates narrow streets, and provides every house a view as well as relative privacy.” This sensitivity to place and to people is what defines the spirit of Town and the architecture that shapes it.
THE URBAN GUILD AND MEANING OF THE AWARD
The Urban Guild is a collective of architects and designers committed to improving communities through thoughtful design. Their work focuses on the intersection of architecture and urbanism, with the goal of creating enduring, people centered places that blend tradition with creativity. Each year, during the Urban Guild Summit, the Guild recognizes projects that embody these principles through the Urban Guild Awards.
These awards honor projects that demonstrate the highest standards of urban design and architecture while reminding both the public and the profession that great design is imperative, more than optional. The Design Excellence Award received by Castillo Arquitectos for Plaza del Mercado Flats celebrates built work that masterfully applies timeless design principles and integrates them into their urban context.
To qualify, projects must have been completed within the last five years and must advance the mission of improving the design of communities. The award acknowledges projects that are not only aesthetically accomplished but also socially meaningful, rooted in context, and respectful of the human experience.
A CONTINUING STORY OF DESIGN AND RECOGNITION
This is not the first time Las Catalinas has been recognized internationally for its design excellence. The Town previously received the CNU Charter Award in 2022 and the Urban Guild Design Excellence Award in 2020. Each of these recognitions highlights the same underlying truth: that architecture and urban design have the power to shape not only buildings but the quality of life itself.
In Las Catalinas, design is not an abstract concept. It is something that can be seen and felt in every street, every plaza, and every view toward the sea. The buildings of Plaza del Mercado Flats are a reflection of this philosophy. They are designed not to stand apart, but to belong to the place, to the people, and to the everyday life of Town’s community and dynamic.
Awards like this one remind us that good design is not only something you see, but something you experience. It is in the feeling of shade as you walk under the arcades, in the sound of footsteps echoing along the cobblestone streets, in the way the light shifts across façades throughout the day, revealing the subtle play of openings and shadows that bring the architecture to life.
Perhaps the best way to understand what makes Plaza del Mercado Flats and Las Catalinas so special is to experience them firsthand. To walk its streets, to sit in its plazas, and to see how thoughtful design truly comes to life in Town.
At its heart, Las Catalinas is a living example of what happens when architecture, urbanism, and nature coexist with purpose. The plazas, narrow streets, and shaded walkways are more than design gestures; they are invitations to connect, to walk, to meet, and to belong. For Las Catalinas, being the setting for this award is a meaningful acknowledgment of the Town’s ongoing commitment to people centered design. We celebrate alongside Castillo Arquitectos, united in a shared commitment to these principles that make Las Catalinas not only a place to live, but a place to feel.
