Cabin Shangrila is the first of a series of elevated mountain cabins designed to populate a tall native woodland. Trees dating various centuries can be found in the plot delimited by a 100-metre vertical basalt face and a stream.
The soil is rich in biodiversity but also depicts the battle occurring in the wood; large fallen trees rotting and supporting new life, layers of volcanic ash combine with fallen branches that randomly reshape the flow of water. In wintertime, the canopy thins allowing more light and thick snow to penetrate.
Located among native woodland overlooking the impressive Nevados de Chillan volcanic complex, La Dacha is the result of a site-specific design that combines a functional mountain layout with high thermal efficiency.
Towering just above the canopy, the vertical V shaped dwelling aims to follow the sun path with generous openings towards the north and west.
The refuge, located in the middle of a swirling precordillerano forest, seems to play between imitation and contradiction. Installed as a pair of clearly artificial volumes in their geometrical rigor, the ocher paneling finish refers to natural materials next to the same trunks that surround it, although the elevation of the forms and the interweaving of their profiles reiterate their markedly contemporary construction ; in which one volume rises above the other, its main and upper diagonal extensions intersect and the subtle difference of horizontal and vertical lattices between both is noticed: emphasizing the careful design that orders them. Insinuating the interiors through boxes of more concentrated proportions, suggesting a particular daily life. In this way, the architectural object is placed in an intoxicating nature, as a timeless and respectful insertion.
The house Villuco is a project of remodeling and expansion of a house located in the area on the way to Chiguayante, Concepción, XIII region, it is located on the slope of the hill and enhances the views on the BIo Bio River on its south bank.
The place has an unbeatable view where the volcanoes appear like a white mantle on the horizon and the tide goes down abruptly and let’s see different layers on the ground: a beautiful sandy beach, then stones with sand and after that, ordered stones that draw circular geometries between the beach and the sea. At that moment, the place whispers its history to us.
The first inhabitants, seamen, the Chonos or Payos as they are known in the area, were nomadic navigators, who left their traces in the sea, their fishing corrals.
Located six kilometers from the Torres del Paine National Park and three hours from the nearest urban center, the hotel consists of twelve rooms plus common areas. Our aim was to conceal it within the landscape.
The design is inspired by the traditional constructions of the extreme south of Chile, with a structure visible on the exterior. The modulation of the piers facing the woods and the choice of lenga wood –wich takes on a silvery tone as it ages- allow the constructions to blend into the landscape under certain conditions.
We designed the hotel with those who were going to build it in mind. Nothing was designed that could not be carried out with local technologies and the scarce, uncertain manpower available. There are no sophisticated constructive details, since that is not what mattered. We embraced these constraints as a design strategy.
San Jose de la Sierra is a development of eight high-end apartments within a three story exposed concrete building.
In 2016 were challenged to provide a housing alternative that had to convey both the opening and freedom of a house with the security of a flat. The site was in a changing neighborhood of large properties in the foothills of the Andes, a common situation of an expanding city that needs to provide more density within the city boundaries. We delivered a monolithic concrete volume aiming for the idea of a single large property, a manor under which all dwellers would find themselves comfortable with their share without being singled out. The office reinforced the design concept with a semi-regular array of openings in three orientations that hide the diverse room destinations each one has, i.e.bedroom, kitchen or bathroom portray the same window size and finishing with different privacy solutions. This array often found in classical examples of architecture is altered with three adjacent expressive staircases that organise and bring hierarchy to the different access halls. The volume brakes and towers as it climbs and winds through the rather inclined Andean terrain.
The brief for the Project was to develop the Novitiate within Osorno’s Barefoot Carmelite Monastery, which was requested to harbour the novice’s bedrooms, their classroom, an oratory and ateliers.
The project is located in front of Zapallar bay, 169 km from Santiago de Chile in the region of Valparaiso. An isolated house in the forest at 450 m above the sea level, on the southern slope of the hill where El Boldo Park, a sclerophylls’ forest, is located.
Architects make valuable efforts to improve the environment of our various activities. But splendid architecture happens in specific cases, therefore the benefits of good design are quantitatively low for the Society. Although these specific cases may be buildings that house many people or have a high qualitative impact on their environment, they do not really influence in the growth of our built environment.
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