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Architects: Salagnac Arquitectos
- Area: 450 m²
- Year: 2019
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Photographs:Andrés García Lachner
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Lead Architects: Evangelina Quesada, Lucca Spendlingwimmer
Text description provided by the architects. Casa Guayacán is located in the mountainous foothills of Nosara. The property is surrounded by primary tropical forests and presents a splendid ocean view. This house was designed by a couple of architects (Evangelina Quesada and Lucca Spendlingwimmer), who decided to move to the mountain with their two daughters to enjoy the tranquility that the mountain offers. Casa Guayacán was conceived under a deep process of discussion between both architects, with different ideas and tastes at times, but with the advantage that both architects are lovers of contemporary tropical architecture and in this respect they agreed and were able to capture the concepts they have developed in common throughout their professional careers.
The starting point of the design was to develop an elongated facade from North to South to focus most of the spaces towards the ocean view. The west façade opens towards sunset and in the morning the vibrant light appears from the east. It was also very important to move the house as far away from the public street as possible to create the maximum space for privacy in the front yard. The main challenge was the unevenness of the terrain. It was decided to develop the design on two levels, the lower level was partially shorter, so that the access area was below the main structure. The lower level was used for general access, the parking area, a studio and service area. The upper level was used to exclusively locate the common areas and bedrooms to fully exploit the ocean view and the sea breeze. Cross ventilation through its facades was emphasized with a system of half-open wood slats through which the air flow passes, in addition to the internal spaces, this lattice creates a changing light pattern during sunny hours. The configuration of the floor plan was made on a modular grid of 1.8 meters between axes, on this lines it was developed the distribution of the spaces and the structural system of both levels, this contributed to the spatial order, made the construction process more agile and meant a reduction in the waste of materials.
Casa Guayacán was built in masonry, metal, wood and glass under common construction methods in the area, the wood was treated with linseed oil keeping part of the texture to give a soft color and a natural texture, the wood work was done by local artisans, and the wood used was teak from controlled plantations. Some main walls were emphasized in polished cement to create a contrast with the other mostly white walls. In the part of energy saving, Casa Guayacán has a solar panel system that provides 100% autonomy day and night. As a final result the design of Casa Guayacán is a composition of simple lines and geometric solids with a detailed lattice of serial woods, a combination of solidity and transparency.
