What role does landscaping play in contemporary housing? In what ways can architecture and landscaping be integrated into a whole? Considering the incorporation of landscaping from the beginning of the architectural project has become a defining aspect and even a challenge for many architects, aiming to improve the quality of life of their inhabitants and contribute to the protection and care of the environment.
On numerous occasions and within the Latin American setting, nature appears as a protagonist or founding principle of the proposed architectural design, involving reasons related to promoting the relationship with the surrounding environment, incorporating native species of the site, and enhancing the connection between the interior and exterior, among others. Although there are different ways of planning, organizing, and arranging the layout of environments in contemporary housing, the dialogue between architecture and landscape can collaborate with the uses, activities, and circulations determined based on the needs to be met or the users to be accommodated.
The following is a selection of collective dwellings scattered throughout Latin America, whose architecture has been planned in harmony with the surrounding landscape.
- Argentina
Houses in between Trees / Sitio Arquitectura
- Location: San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina
- Year: 2020
[…] “A common logic was sought that responds to the landscape and allows for attention to be paid to the particular situation of each dwelling. Three white, austere, regular pieces, rooted to the ground, are perforated to let the landscape in and establish new relationships. The white walls generate a canvas that highlights the shadows of the trees and the greenery of the landscape.
The existence of trees on the sites invites architecture to appropriate them by incorporating them into the interior of the dwelling through patios, which allow for the control of light and privacy. Architecture is configured as a product of the landscape and the particular conditions of the site in which it is inserted, thus seeking a subtle and respectful dialogue.” […]
Learn more about this project here.
COPA Building / Ça Arquitectura
- Location: Moreno, Argentina
- Year: 2021
"This way of organizing the building allows taking advantage of the particular characteristics offered by the land. COPA is built around the existing large grove, creating a relationship of mutual benefit between the existing nature and the nature modified by architecture. The building feeds on the existing vegetation while protecting it. The landscape or plaza project was designed to generate an ecosystem that preserves existing species and can house the bird species that nest in them, as well as insect species. The planted vegetation accompanies the existing one and adapts to the region's climatic conditions, facilitating maintenance and reducing water and chemical consumption for its upkeep." […]
Learn more about the project here.
RH+ Building / RBK arquitectura
- Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Year: 2022
[…] "The building places great emphasis on sensory perceptions, as a primitive and investigative matter of mere existence. It makes a huge commitment to its large open spaces, allowing for a full experience with nature. This is such a basic and fundamental sensation, but at the same time so scarce and forgotten in large metropolises, and in this case, in our Buenos Aires. We always say that 'the project strengthened the building' by providing it with new species that absorb CO2 and produce the necessary oxygen to improve the life of the building and the city itself. The building is composed of ten new trees, four of them large and six of medium size, and more than one hundred and fifty species of shrubs, hanging plants, climbing vines, and ending on the rooftop with native plants and butterfly-attracting species. This invites the appearance of new varieties over time. The RH+ collective housing building gifts its inhabitants with the entrance of a ray of sunshine that hits their face, perhaps from a light bouncing off a tree, delighting them with a play of lights and shadows inside. It also gives them the tranquility of experiencing peaceful and serene coexistence with their neighbors."
Learn more about the project here.
Las Delfinas House / Andrés Alonso
- Location: Villa Allende, Argentina
- Year: 2019
"The idea of an architecture respectful of its environment led to a simple approach that adapts to the existing conditions, using a volume that crosses the land passing through the trees, compressing itself at its midpoint on its North face, to fit the geometry of the land. With a setback of 3.00 meters on one of its sides, it allows for pedestrian circulation of paths, stairs, and bridges, generating the connectivity of both public and private entrances."
Learn more about this project here.
Terrazas de la Estancuela Houses / Adolfo Mondejar Estudio de Arquitectos
- Location: La Calera, Argentina
- Year: 2017
"The idea stems from the striking relationship with the landscape and nature, and the need to preserve native tree species (Orco quebracho) and the opportunity to maintain views from the street. The proposal includes a lookout point on the access floor, where only the parking area and two benches for contemplating the landscape and distant city are located. […]
The project aims to make precise decisions on the economy without compromising the quality of the design, recognizing that the landscape is a priority and that the plant species must be preserved, even if it requires construction and location efforts. The square is an opportunity for the neighborhood to reclaim the empty spaces and permeability relationships that housing in general does not currently provide."
Learn more about this project here.
- Brazil
Roccia Residential Condominium / Núcleo de Arquitetura Experimental
- Location: Flores da Cunha, Brasil
- Year: 2022
[…] “Likewise, the landscaping is composed of species that are usually present in the region, in a balanced mix of exotic and native specimens. The terrain, characterized by its rocky soil, appears as the protagonist in the landscape composition. The implanted vegetation seeks to surround the rocky outcrops, maintaining the natural characteristics of the place as an autochthonous component of the landscaping.”
Learn more about this project here.
Jardim Alto da Boa Vista Condominium / Lucia Manzano Arquitetura + Paisagismo
- Location: Sao Paulo, Brasil
- Year: 2020
[…] “The pedestrian access to the houses is through an extensive and welcoming green boulevard. It was designed as a large outdoor living room, where architecture and landscaping blend and complement each other. The process of thinking about the relationship between the interior and exterior required attention to the choice of materials.
In this project, wood serves as a point of connection between architecture and landscaping. We have applied wood to benches, house entrance doors, and also as brise-soleil on the facades.” […]
Learn more about this project here.
- Paraguay
Mirikina House / José Cubilla
- Location: Mariano Roque Alonso, Paraguay
- Year: 2021
"It is a low-impact dwelling located on the outskirts of Asuncion, very close to the Paraguay River. Understanding the biophysical aspects of the location, it seemed important to us to undertake a low-impact construction with a gentle implementation and the smallest possible footprint in a native, humid, and floodable forest.
We resolved to build the dwelling vertically as an island in this forest and on this special soil, respecting the wonderful native flora and fauna of the site. We aimed to capture the energies of the location and add materials that are friendly to it. We proposed using earth and stone in its materiality." […]
Learn more about this project here.
- Chile
San José de la Sierra Building / German del Rio, Nicolas del Rio, Roberto Farias
- Location: Las Condes, Chile
- Year: 2018
"The task presented - to offer a high-standard housing alternative that involves the extension and opening of a house with the security of an apartment - was considered at the beginning of the project, connecting each apartment with an exterior, whether on the ground or on the habitable roofs.
The response of the office was to propose a monolithic volume, which, with calculated horizontal and vertical offsets, would take on the unevenness of the terrain and prioritize the three vertical cores."
Learn more about this project here.
- México
Mateo House / Zozaya Arquitectos
- Location: Zihuatanejo, México
- Year: 2022
"Mateo House is located at one of the highest points of the Punta Garrobo development in Zihuatanejo. The east and west views towards the Pacific Ocean and the cliffs within the jungle landscape are maximized to integrate the house with its surroundings.
The challenge of the project was to enhance the connection of the user with the natural context in their daily life. Thus, paths, a water courtyard, and terraces add to the idea of creating atmospheres of relaxation, leisure, and enjoyment."
Learn more about this project here.
Villas 72 Residence / DMTALLER
- Location: Mérida, México
- Year: 2022
"It is important to mention that the set of houses manages to blend into the immediate context not only through the architecture but also through the landscape design, since within each of the houses we can find spaces with endemic plants of the region that inhabit both inside and outside of the villas."
Learn more about this project here.
Punta Majahua / Zozaya Arquitectos
- Location: Troncones, México
- Year: 2021
"
The landscaping of the project was based on the analysis and understanding of the local ecosystem. Due to the scarcity of water in the region, a regenerative landscaping approach was proposed using a plant palette from the region that has low water consumption and can withstand the sea breeze and salinity, as well as the planting of local fruit trees and the use of tepetaje and gravel in some sections to reduce water consumption. It is worth mentioning that the project has its own wastewater treatment plant to reuse water for irrigation.
Punta Majahua stands out for its integration and symbiosis with nature, and without a doubt, it was a turning point in the development of the community of Troncones, which has gained popularity and prestige among international tourists who seek not only a place with excellent waves but also a new and different lifestyle, more natural, organic, more in harmony with the origins and coasts of the Mexican Pacific, which provide the perfect setting for a life in tune with nature."
Learn more about this project here.
Coliving interlomas / A-001 Taller de Arquitectura
- Location: Naucalpan de Juárez, México
- Year: 2020
[…] "In order to respect the vegetation of the site, less than 55% of the land was occupied, reducing the impact of the project on the site and integrating a series of roof gardens into the proposal. The landscape design is intended as a productive vegetal system with species such as passionfruit, lemon, lime, and guava, with the purpose of providing not only an aesthetic function but also a source of food."
Learn more about this project here.
Apsara Houses / Beast Estudio Creativo
- Location: Tulum, México
- Year: 2019
"Apsara is a set of three houses located in Holistika, a community focused on respect for nature.
The objective of the construction of this set of three modules is to achieve the integration of natural landscape into the work. [...]
The layout is carried out in order to save all the existing trees on the site, minimizing the environmental impact and creating spaces that respect and integrate with the context. In this way, a natural and random composition is achieved between the three modules without losing privacy and providing views and ventilation for all spaces."
Learn more about this project here.
Tribu Apartments / Arista Cero
- Location: Tulum, México
- Year: 2019
[…] "The project aims to respect and adapt to the natural context while generating a specific interior-exterior connection. The proposal is developed in 4 offset towers integrated into the terrain, which are arranged around a central courtyard, which serves as a transition from the public areas to the private areas. This arrangement of volumes allowed us to house all units and respect 50% of the vegetation on the site.
[...] Tribu seeks a spatial experience rather than material luxury, a return to origin, to the essential, a change in the users' lives, a community lifestyle, an adaptation to the exterior and vegetation of the context."
Learn more about this project here.
- Colombia
Matorral Building / ALH Taller
- Location: Medellín, Colombia
- Year: 2017
"El matorral, with its suggestive name, is an architectural and construction proposal that takes the environment seriously. The slabs become a large container for more than a hundred tropical species. Drip irrigation is programmed to provide a minimal and necessary amount of water to this small ecosystem in a rational and fair manner.
With this true garden contained within the structure, the inhabitant can lean their feet to the edge from inside and enjoy the shrubbery that seems to grow on the floor, giving the sensation of being in a house where an exuberant garden extends outside. All spaces enjoy this, kitchens for example have from their floor edges aloe vera, rosemary, thyme, basil, cherry tomatoes, and lemon trees. It is not uncommon to see a lost squirrel on the third floor that came from the branch of one of the trees growing on the edge of the ravine or in the front garden, and whose branches literally enter through the windows of the building."
Learn more about this project here.
* The texts are descriptions sent by the authors of the projects themselves.
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