Ulrich Laska designed Casa Colibri as a  “palapa village,” integrating it into the many boulders and trees of the hillside lot.

Richard Willan was the builder and Lindsay Ray was the interior designer. Construction is stucco-covered brick and mortar with steel-reinforced pilasters and ring beams. Three of the roofs are palapas, made of woven palm fronds harvested at the proper phase of the moon.

Casa Colibri was literally built by hand, one brick at a time, by local master mason Jesus Mota and his three sons, with a supporting cast of laborers to mix the concrete and carry it to them. The only power tools on the site were a small cement mixer, two small hammer drills and a small electric tile cutter. Much of the tile work was collaboratively designed, on the spot, by Lindsay Ray and Jesus Mota.

A separate team built the palapas. First they placed the teepee-like main beams, then tied in the horizontal bamboo supports. Then the master palapero wove in the palm fronds starting at the bottom and laying them, like shingles, as he worked his way to the apex.