What happens when you bring a Costa Rican architect onto a podcast to talk about Costa Rica master planning in the tropics — and he’s already working on your own 30-acre master plan? That’s exactly the conversation Richard Bexon had with Juan Diego Cárdenas, owner and chief architect of Studio Anónima, in Episode 295 of the Costa Rica Real Estate and Investments podcast.
From the hidden costs of using a US architect, to what makes a master plan feel authentically Costa Rican, to where Juan Diego would put $500,000 right now — this episode covers territory most developers never think about until it’s too late.
Why Your US Architect Will Cost You in Costa Rica
It’s a common move: hire an architect back home, send the plans to Costa Rica, and have someone local handle the permits. Richard has seen it play out many times — and not well.
Richard Bexon
I’ve had clients come back to me later and say, “Rich, I wish I’d listened to you.” The big one is eaves. In North America and Europe, you don’t do big eaves because you want the sun and heat to come in. Here, the sun is intense. You need to shade yourself from it.
Juan Diego Cárdenas
Exactly. And the use of materials as well. You want to use materials that adapt to those changes — because everything expands and contracts daily.
Richard Bexon
And rain here comes sideways. It comes from all directions. If you don’t account for flooding — even building the house up at a certain level — you’re going to have problems. It’ll rain intensely for two hours, things flood, and then it disappears. Drainage matters enormously. I always say North America and Costa Rica look like the same game — the board looks the same — but one’s playing chess and the other is playing checkers. The pieces move differently.
Two Seasons, One Big Design Challenge
Juan Diego Cárdenas
The first thing that comes to mind is that in North America and Europe, they have four seasons. Here we just have two. And our two seasons have a lot of contrast. The dry season, barely any rain. The rainy season, which varies all around the country. In Guanacaste — specifically in Nosara — the rainy season is extremely heavy, different from the central area of Costa Rica.
Juan Diego Cárdenas
So when we design, we have to think about that contrast and how you can enjoy being in a country where it rains so heavily — which is really beautiful — and what you can do to embrace it. To have coverage so you can see the rain, be part of it, enjoy the view and the smell of it. All the nature grows beautifully during the rainy season. Instead of looking at it as something negative, you take advantage of it and create something unique. You can enjoy both seasons, no matter what.
How a Costa Rica Master Plan Starts — Reading the Land
When Richard asked what Juan Diego looks for when he first walks a site, the answer was less technical than expected — and more human.
Juan Diego Cárdenas
I trust my senses a lot and I like to start there. Of course there are regulations you need to know to design a master plan. But getting onto a site, I always approach it in a very sensorial way. I analyze all the views, how it feels, and how to create something that connects to the land. Because when you’re master planning, the most important thing is to adapt a big project to a land that already exists — that has history, that has culture.
Juan Diego Cárdenas
For me, it’s really important to know the area, the culture, the type of landscape — the fruit trees, the birds we could attract. Master planning, for me, is about the experience of how you move and transit throughout the space. The way you move through the landscape is really important. The first thing I think about is how people will move through it and how that experience builds a different relationship with the architecture.
Richard Bexon
Yeah, because master planning and architecture go hand in hand. The two can’t be separate — they need to be together.
Juan Diego Cárdenas
Exactly. And you’re thinking in phases, thinking ahead into the future. In a way, you’re predicting what’s going to happen. The future should look more healthy than what we have. The ability to use a bike, to hike, to walk to a supermarket — it’s really important to anticipate those things to create a healthy environment within the master plan.
The Biggest Mistakes Foreign Developers Make in Costa Rica
Juan Diego Cárdenas
The most important thing is to adapt to the site and create a benefit for the surroundings. Most of these big projects are closed to the outside. I believe it’s okay to have private parts within a master plan, but it should have public areas as well. That way, you’re connected to the urban fabric and creating interactions between locals and foreigners.
Juan Diego Cárdenas
That cultural exchange is one of the things most developers aren’t doing right now. I believe we need to create more connections with the surroundings — especially culturally. Because when you travel or live outside your home country, it’s really about merging into the culture to have a different experience. Food, traditions, holidays — all of that creates a different experience for people living here in Costa Rica. A master plan should get involved in all those parts to be truly successful.
Small Amenities That Create Unforgettable Guest Experiences
Juan Diego Cárdenas
Amenities play a big role, and in a way that connects to the culture. Those small details create a great difference. For instance, what if in a master plan there’s a public area for concerts where Costa Rican artists could perform, and people from all around the world could go and have that experience? That makes a huge difference from having a master plan here versus having one in another country. Amenities connected to the cultural elements of Costa Rica create a nice experience for guests — because that’s what they’re looking for: the people, the artists, the music.
Juan Diego Cárdenas
So I think every hospitality project should have a little bit of that. And that will create a real shift — and build more awareness about the place you’re visiting.
Richard Bexon
People are looking for hiking trails and places for quietness and nature. Amenities used to mean restaurant, pool, gym — the gym is still important, don’t get me wrong. But people want to be in nature and disconnect. Some cool things I’ve seen recently include temazcales and saunas integrated with nature. Costa Rica doesn’t really have a traditional sauna culture, but Mexico and Guatemala have the temazcal — similar to a cold plunge concept — and integrating something like that with nature is really compelling. People want something experiential, but also good for their health.
Juan Diego Cárdenas
Exactly. Right now, the trend is to be healthy and to connect with nature. I’m not a trendy kind of guy. But if the trend is to get healthier, to be more exposed to nature, to connect to the culture — I’m up for it.
Where Costa Rican Architecture and Master Planning Is Headed
Juan Diego Cárdenas
I think we’re going to see more public spaces connected to private developments. There’s one in particular called Parque Tempisque that has a really cool concept. It’s designed by John Gale, a great international architect. What they’re proposing embraces the architecture of Guanacaste and connects to the urban fabric. It’s not a huge urban scale — it’s something smaller — but there is that consciousness to be connected.
Juan Diego Cárdenas
If all developments start connecting, we will develop a new vision of the city and how we move through it. We should think more about how we transit cities in a healthier way. If you can walk every day to work, to restaurants — if you can do it on a bike or on foot — you will feel healthier. The way you live in cities helps you become a better version of yourself.
Richard Bexon
I’ve got friends who moved from a house to an apartment right on a park. They love going out in the morning, walking, getting coffee. They say it feels so different from walking out into a concrete jungle. Having that park right there changes everything.
Juan Diego Cárdenas
A good example of that in Costa Rica is Rohrmoser — a big neighborhood with a lot of buildings, private, but still connected to the urban fabric. And it’s growing like crazy. New coffee shops, new commercial activity. People are using the park, people are walking. And it’s safe — you barely see police officers there because there are so many people. When there are a lot of people, there’s more safety. Everybody knows each other. That creates community.
How to Integrate a Costa Rica Master Plan Without Gentrifying the Area
Richard used their own project — the Arenal Ridge development — as the real-world test case for this question.
Richard Bexon
It’s 30 acres. We want to integrate with the local community beyond just providing jobs, which is already a huge impact. How do we make sure we’re not gentrifying the area?
Juan Diego Cárdenas
Arenal and La Fortuna are very touristic places with a lot of local businesses. You don’t need to be physically connected to a site to create that connection. One good thing for the Arenal Ridge could be to have a list of Costa Rican tourist guides who can help guests move around the area — to different attractions, to national parks. Connecting local businesses with the project enhances the experience. Getting an actual local guide to take you through the park, the volcano — that creates a cultural interchange and builds a chain of small businesses.
Juan Diego Cárdenas
So instead of going only to the high-end luxury restaurant — which is cool, I go to those places too — you could also go to a small soda. Get a casado, experience local Costa Rican food. Creating those connections between businesses enhances the experience for the person visiting.
Richard Bexon
My idea is to have a small café and a restaurant there, but I don’t want to run them personally. I’d love to find a local café owner — someone who’s a budding entrepreneur — and say: look, I’ll give you the space for six months for free, just start your own business. Same with the restaurant — if you want to run it, go nuts, because I’m not in the restaurant business. I’m happy to provide the platform and the clients. You deliver the service and the food. But it needs to be local. A lot of the big resorts in Costa Rica right now could be anywhere, man.
Juan Diego Cárdenas
Exactly. We’re creating platforms for that to happen. What kind of platform are we creating? What kind of activities do we want in those platforms? We have an amazing opportunity to develop something that feels local — that creates that experience.
Richard Bexon
I was just in Guatemala and did a Pacaya hike, which I’d done years ago and it was great back then. Now it just felt like a cattle tour. I wasted six hours of my life and probably $200. There wasn’t anything unique about it. Maybe it’s the stage I’m at in life — but it could have been anything. Even just boiling coffee up there and having a cup. It doesn’t need to be expensive.
Juan Diego Cárdenas
It could be something simple. I was at a cacao farm about three years ago here in Costa Rica — really simple, really authentic. We stayed in a small wooden cabin, nothing fancy. The nicest thing I remember is that we got to see how they make cacao, how they use the sugarcane. A lot of products made on the farm ended up in our meals. It was really nice to understand the whole process of cacao — from the bean all the way to the chocolate bar. That experience was really, really special for me. And it wasn’t luxury. It was more oriented toward the simple things that I will always remember. I even bought some and brought it home.
If You Had $500K to Invest in Costa Rica Right Now
Richard Bexon
My last question — if you inherited $500,000 and had to invest it in a business or real estate in Costa Rica, what would you do and why?
Juan Diego Cárdenas
I would invest in a place that has a lot of potential to grow. I’d look for key areas that in the future will have greater value. I could connect to a consolidated area with my project and create a unique rural stay where people could have local experiences — some of the ideas we discussed.
Richard Bexon
Where would that area be?
Juan Diego Cárdenas
For me, I would choose places that are more jungle-like. Arenal is a really good place. And since it’s really extensive, you don’t need to be in La Fortuna — you could be on the outskirts of Arenal. Jacó is really cool too, but I think it’s getting quite saturated. I enjoy the coast and the beach, but I’m more drawn to walking in the jungle. So probably I would choose a place like that.
Richard Bexon
Awesome. Juan Diego, it’s been an absolute pleasure having you here. Anyone who wants to get in contact with Juan Diego or learn about Studio Anónima — all the contact details are in the description below. Thank you very much for your time, sir.
Juan Diego Cárdenas
Thank you, Richard. Take care.
