Associate architect
Melinka Bier Undurraga
Location
Malalcahuello, Chile

Built area 80 m²
Site area 5,000 m²
Photography Marcos Zegers

Located near Malalcahuello National Park in the Chilean Andes, Casa Vagón is one of three mountain refuges designed simultaneously by Studio TO in response to the extreme conditions of southern Chile — snow, isolation, and harsh climate.

The three shelters — Casa A, Casa Vagón, and Casa Cumbres — share a common structural logic: a simple, prefabricated, and efficient architecture capable of adapting to different topographies and orientations while maintaining unity. A modified A-Frame system controls the interior climate, reduces assembly time, and ensures thermal comfort. Walls and roofs share the same material specifications, creating a coherent envelope that confronts climatic variation head-on.

Casa Vagón sits on a flat site surrounded by ñire forest, elevated to reach the views and rise above the tree canopy. Its footprint runs transversally to the north, with facades facing east and west — placing the bedrooms to take advantage of morning and afternoon light conditions.

The program unfolds across three levels: a ground-level plinth housing covered parking, an outdoor living area, services, and access; a second level containing the communal space and two opposing bedrooms with shared bathrooms; and a third level with two habitable rooms connected by a bridge that spans the full width of the structure, opening entirely to the landscape.

With only 80 m² of built area, the project achieves spatial generosity through vertical organization, panoramic framing, and a warm timber interior that contrasts with the metal envelope — making the refuge feel expansive within a compact, low-impact footprint.