RANCHOS

Over two decades, Sepúlveda Arquitectos and Blancasmoran have built a distinctive partnership spanning architecture and interior design. Their complementary perspectives bring warmth, precision and originality to residences, hospitality destinations and sophisticated commercial spaces. Across Los Cabos, Punta Mita and the Riviera Maya, they have developed an unusually nuanced understanding of how Mexico's most sought-after coastal communities are lived in. Known for constructively challenging convention, they turn ambitious briefs into highly personal environments with a clear sense of place. At Xala, their mastery of barefoot luxury is expressed through architecture that feels refined, effortless and deeply connected to nature.

Manuel Cervantes is one of Mexico's most highly decorated contemporary architects, with more than 29 national and international honors. Since founding Manuel Cervantes Estudio in 2004, he has shaped a body of work spanning landmark transport projects, residences, hospitality, social housing and urban design. His sensory, deeply human approach has earned recognition from the Architectural League of New York, The Architectural Review, the Quito Biennial and the Luis Barragán Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2018, he became the first Mexican architect to receive a monograph from the influential publisher El Croquis, affirming his place on the international stage. His work at Xala brings that stature to a modern interpretation of the Mexican hacienda, where timeless form, craft and landscape converge.

Founded in Tulum in 2010 by Joana Gomes and Joshua Beck, COLAB has emerged as one of Latin America's most distinctive nature-led design studios. The practice unites architecture, design and construction, allowing its team to carry a singular vision from the earliest idea through the smallest handcrafted detail. Working closely with local artisans and natural materials, COLAB creates immersive spaces shaped by breeze, light, shadow and landscape. Its work has appeared in Architectural Digest, Elle, Vogue and Condé Nast, and the studio has been named to AD100 Latin America for two consecutive years. At Xala, COLAB translates that international recognition into an intimate coastal architecture that feels elemental, sophisticated and entirely at home in its setting.

Backen & Backen is an internationally celebrated architecture practice whose name has become synonymous with relaxed elegance, exceptional craft and a profound respect for the land. Across nearly three decades, the firm has designed more than 300 luxury homes, 60 wineries, seven major resorts and 40 restaurants, alongside influential destinations for RH and the Napa Valley Reserve. For more than a decade, it has ranked among Architectural Digest's Top 100 architects and has also been recognized among the Robb Report's leading firms. The bestselling Rizzoli monograph From the Land established the studio's enduring philosophy: architecture should feel inevitable, intimate and inseparable from its landscape. At Xala, the next generation of the firm carries Howard Backen's legacy forward through regenerative design conceived to endure for generations.

Cristina Grappin leads one of Mexico's most compelling contemporary studios, known for architecture and interiors of exceptional restraint, warmth and permanence. From Punta Mita, Los Cabos and the Yucatán Peninsula to projects in the United States and Europe, her work is shaped by an unusually sensitive reading of social and natural context. Her projects have been published by Wallpaper, Metropolis, Architectural Digest, Architectural Record and the Los Angeles Times. Recognition on the AD100 Mexico and Latin America lists, together with her 2022 Elle Decoration Mexico Designer of the Year honor, has secured her place among the region's leading design voices. At Xala, she brings that global reputation to spaces that feel timeless and deeply rooted, allowing material, landscape and memory to speak with equal force.