Text description provided by the architects. The project is located in a suburban lot that borders an artificial lake to the south, on the background, so the best views have an unfavorable orientation... This data fully modeled the volume designed in order to shed the least shadow on the garden and to receive the maximum amount of light. The house is conceived as a large balcony over the lake, and orientation problems are offset by walls and double glazing, crossed ventilation in all rooms, eaves and large openings to the front of the lot to catch the northern light.
A gallery and a large terrace make up the places of visual connection with the environment and mediate the relationship with the outside and the views. All social spaces on the ground floor were unified to make them more flexible and adapted to different scales of occupation; in turn, a number of elements designate and equip the interior to provide a clear distinction between the different areas. Upstairs only a suite and workspace overlooking the double height make up the intimate space of a couple without children. In the future, the house will extend forward with the bedrooms defining a courtyard that will also serve as entrance, protecting the interiors from the street and opening the rooms to the north.
The spatial and material continuity is the resource used to achieve a large and expansive environment in a few square meters; transparency, visual connection and color repetition define the unit of the building. Furthermore the variation in height and ceiling material, the surface finishes and the position of the equipment generate the functional differentiation for each environment.
A simple structure of thin metal columns support a more complex exposed slab, which through beams, brackets and cantilevers takes different heights to give an optimal scale for each environment. Upstairs, a light wood-frame roof is supported by exposed concrete beams, so the structural system is shown explicitly and becomes the constructive language. Some walls are clad in San Luis slate, while the rest of the house has the same finish with arid gray color aggregate.
