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Architects: Martin Sabbatini
- Area: 320 m²
- Year: 2021
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Photographs:Andrés Domínguez
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Manufacturers: Aberturas, Carpintería, Instalacion termica, Mobiliário, Pavimentos
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Lead Architects: Martin Sabbatini, Agustina Calamari, María Clara Amoedo
Text description provided by the architects. The initial commission was to advise the client looking for a terrain capable to satisfy his desire of living by the river. The chosen area is a place where the water and the sound of the river ‘Los Reartes’ fill the senses and cancel out the adversity of rugged topography, stone peaks, and crossed slopes.
One of the initial propositions of the client was to retain the wild, steep and natural landscape as much as possible, as well as to resolve the functional brief in a simple and modern single floor plan. Conceived as a juxtaposition of solid and differentiable volumes, the global design is molded by the river that curves and opposed the public and private, the horizontal and vertical, the heavy of the stone, and the lightness of the piles.
The volume parallel to the channel receives north-west sunlight, creating a unique and cozy interior space that integrates a thick kitchen wall, a kitchen island, and the dining/living space. The openings are installed in a rhythmic and symmetric way on both sides of the long facades; this encourages cross ventilation and vanishes the interiors. As pedestrians, from the outside, we can appreciate the river and the landscape merging with the furniture. As residents, from the inside, we mingle between the stone, the vegetation, and the water.
The second volume accommodates the private areas, this volume turns with the river and sits in juxtaposition with the public area. An indeterminate functional space act as a connecting core between volumes; contains an office, a room, a reading area, and a storage space; these are unconnected walls that house double entry functions, freeing up the central area to be able to absorb these or other activities of daily life.
The northwestern header of this volume opens up, frames, and emphasizes the views; the entire principal room boosts the contemplation of the Reartes. A pitched roof unifies both volumes from the outside as well as from the inside. On the surface, an almost smooth matte black surface with stone details blends into the surrounding landscape.
In the interior design; the rusticity, texture, and color palette of the landscape are accentuated with a plywood cladding that works as a backdrop in the common area. In contrast, the volume of rooms with continuous white walls and ceilings reinforces the morphological simplicity and enhances the controlled views of the greenery outside. The northwest exterior gallery is treated as an essentially functional and technical elements of the life of the house. It is the area of greatest social activity, where the barbecue and outdoor life happen; at the same time, it works as a passive thermal baffle. The design respects the volumetric simplicity of the interior. The gallery is a new separate and independent element, functionally and structurally.
Approaching, from outside, at first sight; the house seems to disappear between stones in the wild terrain that surrounds it. On a closer look, it reveals a powerful intervention of gazes that promote respect and admiration for the natural landscape.
