Marabajo / Nicolás Campodonico

Architects: Nicolás Campodonico
Area: 415 m²
Year: 2006
Photographs:Gustavo Sosa Pinilla

Curated by ArchDaily

Text description provided by the architects. The project is located in La Pedrera, a small seashore town in Rocha, Uruguay. These four aggregated houses work with local themes, especially materials and forms of life, in order to elaborate them in relationship with site conditions.

The lot forms part of the old town, the first blocks in front of the ocean, 20 meters above sea level. Good orientations, the natural slope of the terrain and the ocean views will coincide with an imaginary diagonal line cutting across the block. This is the principal argument for the majority of design decisions, whether for looking directly at the ocean or for hiding it to generate time and paths to rediscover it. The initial strategy consisted to elevate the living room and to locate the sleeping area underneath, taking advantage of the natural slope. With this decision, all the social areas of the house have clear views over the bay, and the dormitories relate to more intimate courtyards.

A series of operations stress the visuals towards the sea: An 11 degrees rotation of the house regarding the street, the diagonal of the window pane, the tension of the concrete cantilever and the roof slope. The articulation of courtyards, walls and staircases gives to the project an image of solidity. This image will change while we walk through the house. When we arrive to the terrace, on the open air, we are confronted with the sea below as the culmination of our path.