Architect: LAND arquitectos
Web site: www.landarquitectos.com
Team architectes: Cristobal Valenzuela H, Angela Delorenzo A, Javier Lorenzo.
Construction: Benjamin Fabres FCF
Ferniture: Artin
Structure: Cristian Gazitua INGAZ
CNC machined laminated wood: Timber
Lighting Design: Katerina Jofre Lighting
Landscape Design: MW Paisajismo
Photograph: ©Sergio Pirron
The commission is for a house for a family located in Matanzas, Navidad. The land has a flat platform that then transforms into a large slope that ends in a dune field and the sea.
The proposal consists of a series of pavilions that work with opposites: between the pre-existing and the new, the flat and the curved, the elevated and the buried.
The original pavilion is located on the upper part of the land, on a flat platform. The first decision was to maintain the original architecture, a modernist cube that we built in 2007 together with the local architect Felipe Wedeles.
The second strategy was to incorporate a new pavilion for the bedrooms, the most intimate space of the house. This new volume is located on the hillside, on the slope, as buried as possible so as not to block the view of the existing volume. Both pavilions are connected underground through a tunnel without modifying the original geometry of the house.
A third barbecue pavilion and a fourth parking and storage room are added. Both are located at the back of the land, on the flat platform. The barbecue is oriented to the north and is located towards the south boundary to protect it from the wind, generating a protected patio between the three volumes.
The four volumes build the story of the project, where the experience of its journey is radicalized when entering the tunnel and appearing in the middle of the slope. This is undoubtedly its most fundamental act.
The volumes are supported on concrete bases and are structured with skeletons of mechanized laminated wood. The curved roofs filter light and shadows, opening up views to new landscapes. Three large skylights are added to the original pavilion.
The new pavilion has a single-pitched curved roof that slopes to the west to protect it from the setting sun.
The project uses Passivhaus principles to optimize energy efficiency. Air infiltration is eliminated at all joints with tapes and sealing separators. Insulated slabs with 200 mm XPS, cellulose insulation in 150 mm ventilated floors, 100 mm walls and 150 mm roofs are used. Windows with thermal break and no air infiltration are installed. A highly breathable, monolithic and UV-resistant sheet (115 g/m², Sd 0.08M, μ ca. 270) is used for the ventilated facade and ventilated ceilings. Mechanical ventilation is implemented in wet areas.
