continued

Context and Site

The house is located at Pingueral, one hour from Concepcion City, Chile. Although the Pacific Ocean is about a quarter mile (400 meters) away from the site, one can sense its proximity by the ocean air, the smell, the sand, and the undulating landscape.

Pingueral has historically been thought of as a remote place, distant from the city. However the idea of "distant" has changed in today's world. Our client wanted to live physically outside the city but also be connected to his work. This led us to consider creating spaces specifically for nontraditional activities, like an Internet navigation area and a guestroom for city friends who might stay over for a few days.

The nearly square site, 79 by 82 feet (24 by 25 meters) inclines down toward the west. The slope is constant and diagonal to the site boundaries. We took advantage of this topography and orientation to cut a concrete volume into the site and suspend from it a glass structure.

The house is surrounded by a stand of young pines. They are very tall, without low branches, so their foliage doesn't become dense until about 15 feet (4 or 5 meters) above ground level. Creating a dense canopy over an open area with a beautiful humus carpet, they provide a poetic image of floating tree branches over an area of trunks.

The canopy is also a sunlight filter that creates a dense and magical atmosphere, varying with the sun's movement and with one's vertical proximity to the canopy.

The Insertion

The house is made up of three tectonic elements of basic geometry and of different materials: a concrete core, a glass box, and an opaque wood-covered metal box. We wanted to make the minimal intrusion on the site so we set the concrete core and the metal-and-wood box above the ground level. Onto these we anchored the glass box, which is structurally supported by the steel.

The three elements are connected by a complex circulation system. Spaces are fluidly connected or completely separated. A fourth element is being considered for bedrooms in a future phase. The proposed volume would be connected to the concrete core through a glass connecting bridge.

We tried to express a paradoxical relationship between dwelling and land: the dwelling as an object contrasting with nature but giving equal value to the site and the architecture.

Dwelling Elements and Circulation

One enters the house via a ramp to the wood-clad, steel-frame structure. A totally opaque exterior opens to a three-floor-high interior space. At the entry is an access hall and two stairs, one that goes down to the living room and one that goes up to the top floor and glass roof. The theatricality of this entry hall is accentuated by the use of transparencies, with a fiberglass floor and sheet-metal stairs.

Descending from the entry hall, one enters the glass box. The lightness of the glass contrasts with the concrete, opening the house, in both plan and section, to the surrounding landscape. Inside the glass box are a large open dining room and living room, both two stories high. This volume is connected to the open kitchen inside the concrete box.

The glass box is suspended over the site, between the trees. Structurally, it is framed in galvanized steel, all members bolted for easy assembly. The perimeter has an aluminum structure and a double-glass curtain wall. We wanted to create a sensation of floating among the trees.   >>>

Discuss this article in the Architecture Forum...

South facade of the concrete volume of the house for an engineer. Photo: Jose Miguel Heras South facade of the glass box. Photo: Jose Miguel Heras Site plan of the house for an engineer. Image: FACTORIA Design and Construction Ltd. Section looking south. Image: FACTORIA Design and Construction Ltd. Section looking east. Image: FACTORIA Design and Construction Ltd. Section looking north. Image: FACTORIA Design and Construction Ltd. Two-story living area, in the glass box. Photo: Jose Miguel Heras Glass-roofed stairwell. Photo: Jose Miguel Heras   Click on thumbnail images to view full-size pictures.