The Seashell House is not by any world-famous architect, but rather a locally famous one, Eduardo Ocampo. He had dreamed about building a seashell shaped ever since he first arrived on the island almost 50 years ago, in 1967. He and his wife settled here and when his older brother, artist Octavio Ocampo, came for visit, he asked if Eduardo would build him a studio so he could paint during his future stays. Eduardo decided the new studio, and residence, would be a chance to realize his dream.
In 2001, Eduardo put together a construction team to build his Shell House but none of them could really wrap their minds around building a house that wasn’t straight lines.
“Everything doesn’t have to be square. I wanted to do build something very unique.”
So, if you visit Isla Mujeres, just 20 minutes from Cancun, you can stay in this marvel. Frankly, the architecture is special but the decoration, not so much. I think this is Eduardo’s wife, Rachel’s doing. Me, I could do without any more color or references to the sea or shells. But Ocampo’s vision for his brother’s art studio is now a guest house. You can find out about staying there here and see for yourself.
