Built in 1983 in the Eastern Hills north of Bogotá, the Floresta 3 house was the first of Baresch's residential projects to feature exposed adobe. To achieve this level of supreme craftsmanship within the building system, the adobe blocks were manufactured on-site, honoring the natural context of the project, where earth and vegetation take center stage.
Unlike urban dwellings, rural residential architecture immerses itself in the surrounding landscape. This was a guiding premise for Colombian architect Herbert Baresch, whose rural designs allowed nature to spill into the views framed by his windows with its genuine, unplanned vegetation. Always deliberate and calculated—not through a cold, detached approach, but out of respect for the pre-existing elements on the site—these framed views were, and remain, living paintings.
The project is located within a private residential development nestled among the slopes of the eastern hills in northern Bogotá and streams that create damp, cold microclimates. For these reasons, adobe is a material that acts as a double-edged sword. Its positive attribute is its excellent thermal and acoustic insulation, which in this house—combined with an air cavity created by double walls—contributes to indoor climate control.
However, adobe has an Achilles' heel: moisture. Because these raw bricks are unfired, unlike their ubiquitous clay counterparts, they are highly vulnerable to the elements; prolonged exposure to water breaks down their components, reverting them to their original state of clay mud mixed with manure and straw. To prevent this, Baresch finished the exterior walls with fired-brick copings from Cogua, Cundinamarca.
Inside the house, the layout of the spaces is linked by circulation pathways that respond to the changing topography, turning these transitions into leading elements of the project's architectural composition.
The bridge connecting the main circulation route with the living room level is a steel and glass piece by the renowned sculptor Alberto Riaño. Although different owners have changed its color over the years, its iconic character does not compete with the volumes that compose the house. On the contrary, it interacts harmoniously with the other materials without losing its identity as an art piece, nor does it clash with the context of the site, offering users crossing this functional artwork views of the local landscape and the terraced internal gardens.
One of the most representative aspects of this project is the construction system supporting the pitched roofs. Baresch's reference point was a combination of the roofing used in informal settlements—a wood-sandwich panel serving as interior cladding, which supports asphalt shingles and is finished on the exterior with brick—and native vernacular dwellings, which support their roof structure with a central post, also known as "El Rey" (The King).
"El Rey" is a system where all loads converge at a single central point, which is highly efficient in circular volumes. However, for this project, Baresch, alongside structural engineer Santiago Luque, conceptualized and designed a reinterpretation of "El Rey" to suit the building's specific structural needs. Most of the timber used throughout the construction was salvaged from demolitions.
Today, with the evolution of the residential development and various factors affecting the local flora, the landscapes of the Bogotá savanna that were once revered are now concealed behind the dense vegetation introduced by neighbors. Nevertheless, the gardens and the boundary with the immediate forest remain central components of the architectural work.
To learn more about the architect, visit Herbert Baresch, Reminiscences of an Anonymous and Natural Architect.
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Architects: Herbert Baresch
- Area: 334 m²
- Year: 1983
