After designing a series of projects in the form of weekend houses we developed one designed as permanent residence. We decided to apply the same structural system of the previous projects which allowed us to reduce construction times associated with a more complex program (bigger areas and more rooms). Besides traditional program of a family house one of the owners wanted to do his work partially from home, so part of the new requirement was to incorporate a small office with an independent access. The house’s commission arises once the owners make the decision to leave the city of Santiago and live by the coast, looking for a better quality of life. They settled in Concón a quiet place that would allow them to be in a natural environment, outside of the city but close enough to commute to their workplaces and to the future school of their children.
Mantagua, a small neighborhood 8 km from Concón, was the place chosen for the house. The site is located on top of Mantaguas’ wetland and Ritoque’s dunes, both protected natural areas and great places for outdoor activities such as kayak, bird watching and hiking. The home sits on an edge site of Mantagua; towards an area of steep gorges that allows a significant distant from other constructions and to extended the views towards the sea and the dunes landscape.
The site of the house along with the distribution of the living areas, allow the house’s social spaces to be at the edge of the site (at the beginning of the steepest), where boldos and peumos (native species) demarcate the edge of a balconied terrace oriented to the southwest. The house design is based in two volumes; the main one organizes almost all the venues. The second one is perpendicular to the main volume and it assembles living areas, dining room and terrace spaces that frame the views to the Pacific Ocean and to the dunes of Ritoque. Siding of the house is dark. Black painted wood (second floor) and rusted steel (first floor) contrast with the interior rooms in soft colors.
