CBI House

Puerto Varas, Chile

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Boyeruca Fishing Cove

CBI House

Puerto Varas, Chile

Firm

SGAA Architects

Type

Residential › Private House

YEAR

2013

SIZE

0 sqft - 1000 sqft

The main challenge of the commission was to develop a housing solution capable of optimizing thermal criteria, and to visually maximize the strata — vertical and horizontal — of the surroundings.

Located in an area of abundant vegetation, near the Minte bridge in Puerto Varas, the 53,000-square-foot site presented the best type of soil to set up base in a topographically irregular sector, with a 15% slope, a low density of vegetation, and the highest levels of natural lighting.

Three design guidelines are defined: 1) Thermal optimization through programmatic compaction on three levels, 2) Maximization of the natural lighting coefficient, through wide openings to the north, and bounded ones able to frame the context in the other three directions, and 3) Dilation toward the topographic natural level, allowing better adaptability to the terrain, minimizing earthworks, moisture transmission, and unnecessary logging of existing trees.

The project is developed using a three-dimensional matrix of 1.5 x 1.5 mts, through which spatial, structural, material, and construction criteria are established. The resulting volume is defined mainly by the manipulation and combination of program modules in three levels, which reflect the high amounts of rainfall of the region in its geometry. The program is approached as a sequence from the most public at the first level (one space), to the more private on the second level (two units), and a bureau-hatch on the third level.

By means of a stereometric 5x5 wooden structure founded on concrete handcrafted benches, the project lays on the topography, absorbing in its own structure the irregularities of the bearing surface. Morphologically it seeks to replicate strategies used in the XVIII century towers of the Osorno region, mainly by using a wooden structure in its entirety, a mono-material surface, a compact programmatic distribution, and the use of sloped roofs to drain rain water.

Materiality: Impregnated Wood / Glass

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CBI House

Puerto Varas, Chile

Other Projects by SGAA Architects

Boyeruca Fishing Cove

CBI House

Puerto Varas, Chile

Product Spec Sheet

Collaborating Firms

Team