Huillinco Lake House / Del Campo - Labbe

Architects

Del Campo - Labbe
Location

Mayol, Chile
Architects in Charge

Carolina del Campo Ruiz-Clavijo, Nicole Labbé Gundelach
Collaborator

Fernanda Barreto
Structural Engineering

Mark Bannister
Contractor

Constructora Corcobado, Mark Bannister
Project Area

78.0 sqm
Project Year

2012

Text description provided by the architects. The assignment was based on interpreting a way of family life at leisure time, with a strong contemporary spirit and keeping to the indigenous architectural style of Chiloé.

The property is located in a native forest plantation and so had to respond to a number of requirements. The first was to integrate with the forest, through a very abstract form, like a kind of chilote barn.

Also it had to respect the history of the area, maintaining the pathway on the lake shore, which 50 years ago was an animal track and today is an access route for the neighbors.

Being on very steep terrain, the excavation into the slope had to be kept to a minimum to alter as little as possible the topography of the land.

The open plan interior prioritizes communal family activities by merging together the kitchen, dining and living spaces and optimizing heat distribution. The central area also "unites the land" by being the only point in the house where one can see the hill and the lake shore.

Access is through a mudroom, a place to leave wet clothes and gardening tools. This area as well as other service areas, looks south, at the hill and is illuminated through north facing skylights.

Glass panels provide natural lighting and are sized so as to minimize heat loss, they are supplemented with overhead lighting, a necessity when living in a dark forest. The outside of the building is designed with the winds of this sector in mind, the west side is fairly enclosed and the terrace is located facing the east.