Hasta La Ideas

Architecture studio MAPA borrowed elements and colours typically used on colonial-style Chilean houses to create this bright red residence in a winemaking region near Santiago.

MAPA designed WA House for a single resident, who presented an image of a traditional Chilean home as the starting point for the design.

Typical elements in these colonial-style residences include a central courtyard and an outdoor corridor, so the architects added these to the design and arranged living spaces around them.

They also used red powder-coated metal siding to clad the exterior walls, as red was a popular colour used on this type of building.

Spaces inside the house are separated into three groups, following the client’s request for different spaces for solitude, entertaining friends and accommodating guests.

The main courtyard is positioned between the living room and the guest suite, offering views in two directions. To the west, it looks out over the Valley of Curacaví, while to the east it faces uphill towards the nearby vineyards.

The sheltered outdoor corridor stretches along the western side of the building. Floor-to-ceiling glazing connects it with the living and dining room, and a terrace at one end provides a scenic spot for dining outdoors.

Gabled walls at both ends of the building reveal a pitched roof that runs diagonally across the building, creating angular ceilings throughout the house.

“This operation directly affects the spatial organisation of the house, uniquely setting each area with an irregular relationship between skies and floors,” said the architects.

Wooden floors and ceilings run through the entire building. There’s also a glazed second courtyard that permits views between four different rooms.

Photography is by Cristobal Palma.

Here’s a project description from MAPA:

WA House / MAPA

This architectural work is located on the outskirts of Santiago in the Valley of Curacaví characteristic within the country for its great wines. The site chosen for the house corresponds to the southern slope of the valley and is oriented toward the northwest in the direction of the distant views framed by the hills and vineyards.

The commission was made by a single man who seeks both the solitude and friends company. As a starting point he brought in the image of a Chilean colonial-style house as a reference for his future home. Both conditions give way to solve the central problems in the project, which added to the site conditions guided the following decisions:

First, develop a program in three areas: private, common and guests, which allows temper the house according to the situation that has its owner, also giving autonomy to use the premises either.

Second, take two primary elements of the Chilean colonial architecture such as the courtyard and the exterior corridor to generate distances and circulations between the three areas mentioned above.

Third, align the views in east-west direction towards the longitudinal valley on one side reaching the containment of the hills and on the other hand the escape of the remoteness of the vineyards.

Fourth, within the game of the rectangular plan the ridge is modified as the midpoint and is situated on a diagonal to the central axis of the house. This operation directly affects the spatial organisation of the house setting uniquely each area with an irregular relationship between skies and floors, which is emphasised by the application of the wood sheathing on both surfaces.

The common use sector which contains living, dining and kitchen increases the maximum height emphasising the relationship with patios and views, avoiding the strong presence of western light by placing the eaves that shape the main corridor, which also constitutes the terraces of the house.

The doors were built on site and in the case of gateways that receive morning sun we added a wicket that acts as a safety enclosure window. All the house has wood floors has been treated naturally in all venues except the living room and hallways, which applies a dark finish. The siding was made in blood red metal, a colour widely used in Chilean colonial style houses.

Architects: MAPA / Cristián Larraín, Matías Madsen, Bernardo Valdés
Location: Curacavi, Chile
Collaborators: Karina Pardo, Eduardo Corales
Structural Design: Alex Popp
Contractor: Daniel Matte
Project Area: 130 sqm
Project Year: 2010-2011
Photographs: Cristobal Palma

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colonial-style Chilean residences appeared first on Dezeen.

This symmetrical concrete house by Chilean studio Pezo Von Ellrichshausen is the first in a series of 12 holiday homes underway in the Spanish canton of Matarraña and will be followed by others designed by Sou Fujimoto, Didier Faustino and more (+ slideshow).

Casa Pezo is the first and so far only completed residence in the Solo Houses series – a project commissioned by French developer Christian Bourdais that invited a host of international architects to design a dream house with no constraints besides budget.

Architects Maurizio Pezo and Sofia von Ellrichshausen of Pezo Von Ellrichshausen based their house on the principles of “symmetry and homothety”, creating an evenly proportioned building that centres around a courtyard and swimming pool.

The main living spaces of the house are raised two storeys above the ground so that they float over the landscape. They’re supported by a chunky central column, which accommodates the building’s entrance and contains the swimming pool.

“Occupants feel a floating sensation as they hang over a podium that only sustains the centre of the building,” explained the design team.

To maintain the unyielding symmetry, the building has two identical entrances that are both accessed from a single staircase.

Once inside, residents use a spiral staircase to walk up to the house’s main floor, where a living room, dining room and pair of bedrooms are neatly positioned around the edges of the courtyard.

All four rooms have floor-to-ceiling glazing, which slides back to allow each one to be transformed into a terrace, while four balconies form the square corners of the plan.

The architects looked at the design of traditional Mediterranean courtyard residences when developing the layout and proportions of the plan. “The size of the swimming pool, a quarter of the patio, sets the standard for each the modules of the peripheral ring,” they said.

The sides of the pool and courtyard are lined with white ceramic tiles to provide a counterpoint to the bare concrete visible everywhere else around the building.

Casa Peso was completed in June 2013, but is set to be followed by 11 more projects from architects including Sou Fujimoto, Didier Faustino, Johnston Marklee and Takei Nabeshima.

Photography is by Cristobal Palma.

Here’s more information from Pezo Von Ellrichshausen:

Casa Pezo – the first of the solo houses collection

Chilean agency Pezo Von Ellrichshausen has completed Casa Pezo – Solo Houses’ first initiative of unique property development in Europe. The house is a belvedere situated in the breathtaking natural site Matarraña, two hours south of Barcelona. It overlooks the Natural Park of Puertos de Beceite.

This house is the first house completed by Solo Houses. Its project comprises building a dozen homes in the region, each designed by some of the most avant-garde international architects. Christian Bourdais, founder of Solo Houses, gives architects few restrictions when designing their interpretation of a second home. He believes that this specific type of habitat offers occupants and architects a freedom from preconceived notions of housing and an aperture to unique architectural design.

Maurizio Pezo and Sofia von Ellrichshausen designed a house, which dominates the landscape. A platform separates the structure from the mainland. Occupants feel a floating sensation as they hang over a podium that only sustains the centre of the building.

Casa Pezo is made of concrete. Its design is governed by symmetry and homothety. It plays with verticality and horizontality. Balance and rhythm begin at the entrance and is sustained throughout. Two sets of stairs and doors create a triangle on either side of a corner.

It is only once you have reached the upper floor that it becomes clear that the monolith flanking the podium is a swimming pool. Covered with ceramic tiling, the pool occupies the central part of a patio. It is a reference to Mediterranean architecture where a balance of warmth and shade is essential.

The size of the swimming pool, a quarter of the patio, sets the standard for each the modules of the peripheral ring. Beyond a rigorous geometric distribution, Casa Pezo is simple and minimal. A dining room, a living room and two bedrooms are filled with little furniture, mostly designed by the architects themselves. Large windows open completely to the outside. All indoor spaces have the possibility of becoming outdoor terraces.

The estate covers just under fifty hectares. Ten other houses, all designed by renowned architects, are planned. Each unique structure will be surrounded by 3 to 4 hectares of nature. This allows each home to fully integrate into an expanse landscape.

Architecture de Collection, the first agency specialising in the sale of outstanding 20th and 21st century architecture, markets the homes. Architects for the other homes include Sou Fujimoto, designer of the current Serpentine Gallery pavilion, Didier Faustino, Office KGDVS, Johnston Marklee, MOS Office, Studio Mumbai, or TNA Takei Nabeshima. For the price of a simple 100m2 apartment in a city, Solo Houses offers property with a creative concept.

Christian Bourdais believes in the principle of collecting original and unique designs. The business model is patterned following the Case Study House Program. A project that collected the most talented architects of 1950s to 1970s, in order to explore the concept of a modern and affordable vacation spot in California. Half a century later, each of these productions – 36 projects, not all of which have been constructed – has become a work of art. Amateur architecture collectors strive to own them. Solo Houses is a project of today. It is a reflection on our modern way of life. It is also based on the timeless art of living.

The post Pezo von Ellrichshausen’s Casa Pezo is first
of 12 architect-designed dream houses appeared first on Dezeen.

This lopsided house by Argentinean studio Adamo-Faiden has a pointed balcony poking out of one side and a caged terrace on the roof (+ slideshow + photos by Cristobal Palma).

Located in Villa Adelina, a suburb in the north of Buenos Aires, the two-storey Casa Martos butts up against a neighbouring commercial building of the same height and Adamo-Faiden has matched the proportions of the volumes to tie together the conflicting architectural styles.

The facade of the house faces south-west, which architect Marcelo Faiden explains was to bring in natural light and prevent any issues with overlooking windows from the other two properties. “This decision allowed us to cover the ten-metre-high party wall, maintaining the existing sunlight and generating long views to the new house,” he said.

The balcony shelf protrudes from this glazed elevation behind a layer of metal fencing, creating a ledge of plants beside the first floor window. Faiden added: “From the inside, the vegetation of the double enclosure seems to merge with the patio of the next plot.”

A small room and garage occupy the ground floor of the house, while the bedroom, bathroom and living room are positioned on the first floor.

The architects compare the project with Casas Lago, their first built project, which also features a rooftop terrace. “In both cases the new construction tries to create a relation with the urban fabric through an immaterial, open air room located on the terrace,” said Faiden.

Since completing Casas Lago, Adamo Faiden has worked on a number of residential projects, including designs for social housing on top of existing homes and a housing block that could also be used as offices. See more architecture by Adamo Faiden.

See more architecture in Argentina »

Photography is by Cristobal Palma. See all our stories featuring Cristobal Palma’s photos.

Here’s a short description from Adamo-Faiden:

Martos House

The house is located in Villa Adelina, a neighbourhood in the north area of Buenos Aires suburbs where great commercial activities, industries and housing coexist.

The construction is close to the street in a lot where a prefabricated house already occupies the central area of it.

The characteristics of the buildings nearby, determine the position of the new house. An industrial building generates towards one side a 10 meters height division wall that is used to structure lengthwise the house while orientating all the interior spaces towards the garden of the opposite field.

A metal tray runs all along the structure length, becoming a shell for a new vegetation that gazes from the inside and seems to merge with the neighbouring garden.

Above: site plan – click above for larger image

Above: ground floor plan – click above for larger image

Above: first floor plan – click above for larger image

Above: roof plan – click above for larger image

Above: section aa – click above for larger image

Above: section bb – click above for larger image

Above: section cc – click above for larger image

Above: front elevation – click above for larger image

Above: rear elevation – click above for larger image

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Adamo-Faiden appeared first on Dezeen.

This earthquake-proof house on a hillside in western Chile by architects Pezo von Ellrichshausen has six rooms with glass walls (+ photos by Cristobal Palma).

Mauricio Pezo and Sofia von Ellrichshausen were asked to design the house for a pair of artists whose former home had been destroyed during the major earthquake of 2010, so the architects decided to create a building with a strong structure that could withstand another disaster.

“For things to last, for them to withstand the weight of time, they must suffer. The question was to what extent this tension should be made visible,” they explain.

They gave the building an exposed steel skeleton, which frames the glass rooms on the three upper floors as well as two ceramics workshops on the lower ground floor.

These powder-coated black columns and beams create a chunky grid across each elevation, contrasting with the translucent white curtains that hang behind the glazing.

“There is a feeling of serenity and tension in the whole building,” Pezo told Dezeen. “Despite its unstable degree of transparency, it is a monolithic and bold structure.”

“But there is something uncomfortable about the dimensions of the elements of that structure,” he added. “Considering the small volume of the house, [the structural members] seem too thick to be steel and too slender to be concrete. Perhaps this building is no more than a piece of infrastructure.”

The staircase splits the house across the middle and connects the living rooms on the upper ground floor with drawing studios on the first floor and the bedroom and bathroom on the second floor.

Crossbeams either side of the staircase provide extra structural support and create the framework for built-in furniture.

Other projects we’ve featured in Chile include a library filled with daylight and a spa in a herb garden.

See all our stories about Chile »

Photography is by Cristobal Palma. See all our stories featuring Cristobal Palma’s photos.

Here’s some information from the architects:

Pezo von Ellrichshausen, Arco House, Concepcion, 2010-2011

The decisions taken in the design of this house were the reaction to an accident. It was created for an artist couple: he works with paper, engravings and digital publishing; she with enamelled ceramic. They had previously been living together in a big old house on the side of a hill, but this was destroyed during the earthquake that devastated central Chile in 2010. Resistance is not only opposition to a force, but also tolerance, patience, being strong-willed. For things to last, for them to withstand the weight of time, they must suffer. The question was to what extent this tension should be made visible.

The house is a vertical structure with a small rectangular (1:2) floor plan. An almost blind plinth of concrete sealed with asphalt is used to embed the house into the natural terrain. From this plinth emerge six steel 250 × 250 × 8 mm columns; the beams scarcely alter in thickness from one floor to the next. This rigid-frame structure defines six equal rooms. To this we simply added a compact piece of furniture which serves as a support for the units and the services. At the centre of gravity of the floor, the crossbeams are duplicated in order to create a vertical circulation in which the 45º intersecting nodes are bracing squares and double-landing steps. The steel components have been fireproofed and brightly enamelled with a coarse grain.

Too thick to be of steel, too thin to be of concrete, the black structure frame seems awkward when we consider the size of the volume it supports, so that between the frames, curtains and reflections this monolithic and generic new prism acquires a serene presence – perhaps with something of that ‘gentle unity’ that Georg Simmel described ruins as having.

Above: site plan – click above for larger image

Location: Concepcion, Chile
Architects: Mauricio Pezo, Sofia von Ellrichshausen
Collaborators: Bernhard Maurer, Diogo Porto, Joao Lopes, Antonio Conroy, Eleonora Bassi, Lena Johansen, Julliana Valle, Tim Simon
Client: Barbara Bravo, Claudio Romo
Builder: Ricardo Ballesta
Structure: German Aguilera
Building services: Marcelo Valenzuela, Jaime Tatter
Plot surface: 450 m2
Built surface: 124 m2
Design year: 2010
Construction years: 2010-2011
Photography: Cristobal Palma

Above: ground floor plan

Above: first floor plan

Above: second floor plan

Above: third floor plan

Above: roof floor plan

Above: isonometric sectional drawing – click above for larger image

Above: section A-A

Above: section B-B

Above: house elevations

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Pezo von Ellrichshausen appeared first on Dezeen.

Dezeen Screen: this movie by photographer Cristobal Palma shows a project installed by Clavel Arquitectos in a Shenzhen public square, where children playing on roundabouts generate electrical power for three spinning parasols. Watch the movie »