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Architects: Arias Ranea
- Area: 149 m²
- Year: 2018
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Photographs:Gonzalo Viramonte
Text description provided by the architects. A young couple with two small children came to our office proposing this beautiful challenge to design their home on a plot with a slope of 38% and in which they wanted to achieve flat expansions and to be able to arrive with the vehicle to the access level of the house.
The idea focused on building a long retaining wall that allows us to level one sector of the site and where two rectangular blocks overlap each other. This situation allowed us to generate transitional spaces and exterior expansions. A small and lonely hackberry tree on the front of the plot dictated the definite location of the house and was the organizer of the final composition.
The first rectangularly shaped block is placed perpendicular to the front, crossing the retaining wall sideways. In this block, the social areas are located. Towards the front, there is only a minimal opening on a white background, while both of the sides become translucent, interacting with the exterior. The main exterior expansion is for several purposes, acting as a playground, parking lot, a meeting place and finally as the main entrance for the family. From this extension beautiful views towards the Sierras Chicas open up. The second rectangular block houses the private areas.
During the first stage two bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen, a toilet and a bathroom were built. A second stage completes the program with a third suite bedroom, a laundry room and a study/guest room. Momentarily a suspended roof acts in place of the future suite generating the transitional space with the exterior.