Where we work(Central Valley)
Architects in Grecia
(Studio CAVA)
Houses, villas and boutique hotels in Grecia, designed for its sun, wind and rain.
An architecture and interior design studio working across Costa Rica: the study of the lot before you buy, the design and the interiors, the permits with the Municipalidad de Grecia and the works, with an early cost range.
Grecia is the seat of the canton of the same name, in Alajuela, 1,002 m above sea level. A year here brings 2,205 mm of rain, 96% of it from April to November. Permits for a lot go through the Municipalidad de Grecia.
As architects in Grecia, we start every project with a site visit: we walk the lot in the morning and again in the afternoon, note where the sun lands and where the breeze comes from, and only then start drawing.
(Our services in Grecia)
One studio, from the lot to the keys.
A project usually takes them in this order, and each one can also be hired on its own.
All services →-
(01)
Lot study
Before you buy in Grecia: what the rules, the water and the slope let you build on a lot, and roughly what it costs.
2 to 4 weeks · Fixed fee
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(02)
Master planning
For land that will hold more than one house: where the road, the lots, the houses and the shared buildings go, decided after reading the land.
6 to 12 weeks · Fixed fee
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(03)
Architecture
Houses, rental villas and small hotels, from the first sketch on the lot to the drawings the permit and the builder need.
About 5 months for 250 m² · CFIA: from 6% of the works
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(04)
Permits
We file the project with the CFIA and the Municipalidad de Grecia, and answer every observation until the licence is issued.
About 3 months · Included when we design
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(05)
Interiors
Kitchens, bathrooms, built-in furniture, lighting and finishes, designed with the house or for a remodel.
With the architecture, or 2 to 4 months · Agreed fee
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(06)
Construction supervision
Weekly site visits, the site logbook, payments checked against work done, and a report with photos after every visit.
The length of the works · CFIA: 3% or 5% of the works
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(07)
Sustainable design
Houses and hotels designed to a sustainability standard, with RESET or LEED® certification if you want the label.
Alongside the design and the build · Separate, agreed up front
(Grecia at a glance)
- Canton
- Grecia, Alajuela
- Permits
- Municipalidad de Grecia
- Elevation
- 1,002 m
- Rain
- 2,205 mm a year
- Dry season
- December to March
- Liberia airport
- 3 h 35 min by road, 200 km
- San José airport
- 40 min by road, 32 km
- Sunlight
- 1,937 kWh/m² a year
- Solar power
- 1,590 kWh a year per kW of panels
(The year in Grecia)
The dry season runs from December to March: 4 months under 60 mm of rain. The wettest month is September, with 405 mm.
July rains less than June and August: the short break known as the veranillo de San Juan.
Afternoons are hottest in April, at 29 °C on average, and coolest in December, at 26 °C. Nights stay between 17 and 19 °C.
Best time to start*
The best time to start building here is from November to March. Those 5 months bring 267 mm of rain in total; the other 7 bring 1,938 mm, 7 times as much.
Earthworks, foundations and concrete pours need dry ground, and many roads to the lots only stay passable without rain. On a day with 10 mm of rain or more, that work usually stops.
A 4-month phase of earthworks, foundations and structure that starts in November meets about 6 such days here; the same phase started in April meets about 22. Starting in November saves about 15 days of stopped work: some 2 weeks of crew and machinery paid to wait, and the pumping and drainage that wet excavations need. So the permit should be ready by October. Still, it is a recommendation, not a rule: building goes on through the rains, more slowly, and no project should sit for months waiting for the dry season.
(The wind in Grecia)
Up to 7 km/h7 to 1414 to 2222 to 29Over 29
In the dry season the afternoon wind at Juan Santamaría airport comes from the east.
Rooms that open to the wind on one side and away from it on the other cool themselves, and a roof that sheds the rain lets them stay open in the wet months too.
(Wind and sun around Grecia)
(The sun in Grecia)
Each dot is the sun at a whole hour, every three days: each figure-eight is one hour across the year, and the lines are the 21st of each month. Orange and red dots are the hours when the sun should stay off the glass.
The sun here is never far from overhead. At noon it stands 80° high in March and September and 57° in December, and from April 17 to August 27 it passes north of overhead, so walls and glass that face north take sun as well.
What heats a house is the low afternoon sun. It sets at 294°, west-northwest, in June and at 246°, west-southwest, in December. That side needs the deepest roof.
Sunrise falls between 5:15 and 5:60 all year, and sunset between 17:12 and 18:03.
The ground here gets 1,937 kWh of sunlight per m² a year, and solar panels make about 1,590 kWh a year for each kW installed.
(Building in Grecia)
Which permits you need to build in Grecia, and in what order
The building permit in Grecia comes from the Municipalidad de Grecia. These are the four steps every project takes; for the whole route of yours, with SETENA, Health and the Fire Department, use the permit route tool.
- (01)
Land use certificate
The uso de suelo, from the Municipalidad de Grecia: what the zoning allows on the lot.
- (02)
Water availability letter
From the local ASADA or from AyA. Without it there is no building permit, so it is worth asking for before buying.
- (03)
Drawings at the CFIA
Filed through the CFIA's APC platform and signed by the architect in charge.
- (04)
Building permit
Issued by the Municipalidad de Grecia.
(Our work near Grecia)
(Questions about building in Grecia)
Where is Studio CAVA based, and how do you work in Grecia?
We work from San José and Guanacaste. We visit Grecia for the analysis of the lot and, during construction, for the supervision visits; the rest happens by video and email, in English or Spanish. Our nearest work is Green City, Amacor, 16 km away.
Can you design my house in Grecia if I live abroad?
Yes. The first call is free and by video, and each stage of the design ends with drawings you review and approve at a distance. We walk the lot in Grecia ourselves, and during construction we send a report with photos after each visit.
How much does it cost to build a house in Grecia?
A 250 m² house with a pool comes to about US$639,000 to US$987,000 in Grecia, with a high finish, design, permits and VAT. Our cost estimator gives the range for your own size, finish and lot, with the schedule month by month.
What should I check before buying a lot in Grecia?
The land use certificate from the Municipalidad de Grecia, which sets the use, setbacks, coverage and height; water availability in writing from AyA, the local ASADA or a well; the setbacks from any river or spring; and the slope. Our lot study checks it in 2 to 4 weeks, before you sign.
When is the best time to start building in Grecia?
Ideally from November to March, so that the earthworks, foundations and structure fall in the dry season. A 4-month phase of that work started in November loses about 6 days to heavy rain, against about 22 if it starts in April, about 15 days of crew and machinery. It is a recommendation, not a rule: building goes on through the rains, more slowly, and no project should sit for months waiting for the dry season. To start then, have the permit ready by October.
Who issues building permits in Grecia?
The Municipalidad de Grecia. The drawings are filed first with the CFIA, through its APC platform, and the permit comes after the land use certificate and the water availability letter.
How hot does it get in Grecia?
Afternoons average 29 °C in April, the hottest month, and 26 °C in December. Nights stay between 17 and 19 °C. Shade on the west side and air moving through the rooms do more for comfort than anything else.
How far is Grecia from the airports?
By road, without traffic, 3 h 35 min from Daniel Oduber airport in Liberia (200 km) and 40 min from Juan Santamaría airport in San José (32 km).
Rain: CHIRPS climatology (CHPclim v2, Climate Hazards Center, UC Santa Barbara). Temperature and wind: measured at Juan Santamaría airport, 14 km away, typical year 2011 to 2025 (Climate.OneBuilding.org TMYx, from NOAA observations), temperatures adjusted for elevation. Heavy-rain days: NASA POWER (MERRA-2), 2001 to 2020. Sun: calculated for the town's coordinates. Elevation: SRTM. Roads and places: OpenStreetMap. Gathered October 2026.