Where we work(Guanacaste)
Architects in Potrero
(Studio CAVA)
Houses, villas and boutique hotels in Potrero, 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 Santa Cruz and the works, with an early cost range.
Potrero is in the canton of Santa Cruz, Guanacaste, 12 m above sea level. A year here brings 1,746 mm of rain, 97% of it from May to November. Permits for a lot go through the Municipalidad de Santa Cruz.
As architects in Potrero, 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 Potrero)
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 Potrero: 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 Santa Cruz, 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
(Potrero at a glance)
- Canton
- Santa Cruz, Guanacaste
- Permits
- Municipalidad de Santa Cruz
- Elevation
- 12 m
- Rain
- 1,746 mm a year
- Dry season
- December to April
- Liberia airport
- 50 min by road, 35 km
- San José airport
- 4 h 35 min by road, 241 km
- Sunlight
- 2,054 kWh/m² a year
- Solar power
- 1,654 kWh a year per kW of panels
(The year in Potrero)
The dry season runs from December to April: 5 months under 60 mm of rain. The wettest month is September, with 365 mm.
July rains less than June and August: the short break known as the veranillo de San Juan.
Afternoons are hottest in April, at 34 °C on average, and coolest in November, at 30 °C. Nights stay between 23 and 26 °C.
Best time to start*
The best time to start building here is from November to March. Those 5 months bring 145 mm of rain in total; the other 7 bring 1,601 mm, 11 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 3 such days here; the same phase started in April meets about 20. Starting in November saves about 17 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 Potrero)
Up to 7 km/h7 to 1414 to 2222 to 29Over 29
In the dry season the afternoon wind at Liberia airport comes from the northeast.
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 Potrero)
(The sun in Potrero)
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 79° high in March and September and 56° in December, and from April 18 to August 26 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 5:20 and 6:06 all year, and sunset between 17:17 and 18:09.
The ground here gets 2,054 kWh of sunlight per m² a year, and solar panels make about 1,654 kWh a year for each kW installed.
(Building in Potrero)
(Permit route tool)
Which permits you need to build in Potrero, and in what order
The building permit in Potrero comes from the Municipalidad de Santa Cruz, but it is the last of several approvals: the water letter, SETENA when the project calls for it, the CFIA and the Ministry of Health among them. This tool draws the route for your project: every permit it needs, in order, and who gives each one.
- (1)Choose what you are building and its size. It starts with a house of 300 to 500 m².
- (2)Tick what applies to the lot.
- (3)Read your route below. It redraws with every answer, and the steps marked Not needed do not apply to yours.
(Your permit route)
The Municipalidad de Santa Cruz issues the permit. It has a partial (1983, 1994); outside it, the national construction rules apply.21,29
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(01) The lot and its rules
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(02) The environment
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Not needed: under 500 m².8
Not needed
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(03) Drawings and the CFIA
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For a house, or a building of 300 m² or less, Health approves on the professional's .12
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No review for a house or fewer than 4 apartments, though the fire rules still apply.12
Not needed -
The Municipalidad de Santa Cruz approved projects in 10.1 days on average in 2024-25, 35% at the first submission.29
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(04) Licence and works
Within 200 m of the ordinary high-tide line the maritime zone law (Ley 6043) applies: the first 50 m are public and cannot be built on, and the next 150 m are held under a concession from the municipality, not owned. Check where a lot sits before you buy.
(Our work near Potrero)
(Questions about building in Potrero)
Where is Studio CAVA based, and how do you work in Potrero?
We work from San José and Guanacaste. We visit Potrero 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 La Perla, 10 km away.
Can you design my house in Potrero 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 Potrero ourselves, and during construction we send a report with photos after each visit.
How much does it cost to build a house in Potrero?
A 250 m² house with a pool comes to about US$689,000 to US$1,064,000 in Potrero, 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 Potrero?
The land use certificate from the Municipalidad de Santa Cruz, 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; whether the lot is within 200 m of the high-tide line, where the maritime zone law applies; 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 Potrero?
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 3 days to heavy rain, against about 20 if it starts in April, about 17 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 Potrero?
The Municipalidad de Santa Cruz. 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.
Can I build near the beach in Potrero?
Not in the first 50 m from the ordinary high-tide line, which are public. The next 150 m are held under a concession from the municipality rather than owned, with their own rules. Beyond 200 m, a titled lot follows the normal permit process.
How hot does it get in Potrero?
Afternoons average 34 °C in April, the hottest month, and 30 °C in November. Nights stay between 23 and 26 °C. Shade on the west side and air moving through the rooms do more for comfort than anything else.
How far is Potrero from the airports?
By road, without traffic, 50 min from Daniel Oduber airport in Liberia (35 km) and 4 h 35 min from Juan Santamaría airport in San José (241 km).
Rain: CHIRPS climatology (CHPclim v2, Climate Hazards Center, UC Santa Barbara). Temperature and wind: measured at Liberia airport, 29 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.