The project commissioned for Catamarca street in Olivos neighborhood, Buenos Aires Province, features the challenge of being an intervention that’s nor meant to be seen. Or at least, it should integrate and blend into the landscape.
The request was to connect the barbecue area with the pool and define areas for lounging. Previously, a dirt path, part desire path and part shaded area, marked an uncomfortable and undefined passage without space to sit and have lunch.
A silhouette was designed to connect three defined areas: a solarium next to the pool, a semicircle that widens the path and provides space for a small table to enjoy the sun, and, at the end of the path, a larger platform that allows for a big family table next to the grill. A continuous pavement was chosen, crafted by hand, composed of small stones in different shades, giving it a natural appearance. The form, by contrast, seeks to be configured from pure geometries that give character to the piece.
The intervention is completed with a metal pergola formed by two triangles covering the first part of the path and the main table area. The columns start at the edges of the triangles and descend precisely and cleanly to the ground. This pergola supports climbing plants and frames the seating area and the grill, bringing the scale down to a more cozy level.
In Catamarca, two planes were configured in a tectonic-stereotomic contrast: the first, heavy, like a curved but hard surface resting on the ground, and the second, much lighter, with straight lines and edges, developing above the user.