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Architects: Arq. Carlos A. Jurado
- Area: 178 m²
- Year: 2022
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Photographs:Federico Cairoli
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Lead Architect: Carlos A. Jurado
Text description provided by the architects. The housing is located within the framework of a renovation in which there was only one floor on a 75m2 plot, in which the housing occupied 2/3 of the footprint. The layout of the house was directly related to a 9m tall tree (ficus) on its southwest facade.
The project is a house for a family of three members. The house is based on the creation of a new floor for a more private program, freeing up the ground floor and integrating the two floors with a staircase that was previously external and is now fully integrated into the project. At that time, the house had a relationship with the external patio, which was manifested through the texture of the materials, particularly the splatter-type plaster that was restored and left as a trace of how the house related to the exterior facades. This material gave rise to the new floor generating a smooth texture, creating a dialogue with the existing trace, which is manifested in the internal and external journey of the house.
Its main facade, facing southwest, included the creation of a dormer window on the northeast corner that currently provides light to the entire house and highlights the texture of the old finishing material. This dormer window coincides with the main staircase of the house, which enhances the workspace of the house overlooking the same staircase.
There was an explicit intention to prioritize the more social spaces of the house and emphasize the interior-exterior connection, establishing direct relationships between them. This is why the first operation of the house is to completely free up the ground floor and leave a kitchen that integrates with the living room and is also connected to the access patio. In addition to this, a new exterior staircase was proposed to continue the existing staircase and create a vertical route that connects to the new terrace, which is partially protected by the canopy of the tree (ficus) at the main entrance.
The wooden openings (solid aged cedar) along with the furniture in the house (cedar, paradise, and guatambu) were designed and built entirely in the studio's own workshop. This allowed for different tests and the furniture was directly related to the project to improve the spatial quality, enriching the construction process of the work.
The main intention has been to create a sense of shelter in which the openings, including the dormer window, allow sunlight to enter, generating shadows and textures with the pre-existing elements that change throughout the day and year.
