b+c House / Barella Arquitectura

Curated by Clara Ott

Architects: Barella Arquitectura
Area: 300 m²
Year: 2017
Photographs:Sepia Fotoagencia
Manufacturers: AutoDesk, Acor, DePlano, Ferrocons, HORMI-BLOCK, Roca, SINDE Sanitarios, Trimble, ferrum, johnsonacero
Lead Architects: Marcelo José Barella, Soledad Corazza.

Text description provided by the architects. Light as protagonist. The house is located in a parcel in the middle of a block of 30 x 50 m. with moderate slope that descends to the street. The place is at the foot of Córdoba´s hills, in the city of Villa Allende. The House is born and takes its level on the back of the field, allowing it to raise and create a 'balcony' for the contemplation of the landscape; which is characteristic and a typical view of Córdoba. Its dialogue with nature is very strong, because the spirit of the place is linked to nature.

The House is implanted in the ground according to the topography and existing trees. The facade, with a concrete plan that is being cut, officiates of screen of the native vegetation: the Espinillos, sculptured trees that generate a filter between the street and the architecture. The House is raised, fleet, doesn´t touch the floor. That empty space is the connection between the ground and the construction. The architecture is a creator of vacuum, courtyards and places of family gathering that get discovered when the place is toured and inhabited.

The construction of the house is created based on the pure expression of materials, in all its variants: concrete, brick, wood and veneer. This allows a set of colors and textures to take place on the scene.

The architectural design of the House, it's umbrellas, openings, the bond between walls, allow the materialization of light, making of its geometrical games or diffuse light, a living House, which mutates, changes and turns expressing and reflecting what happens on the outside at various times of the day. We also worked with the water as matter that reflects sky, cooling and accompanying the tour's entry to the House.

We worked with a system of paths that generate different instances from the street to the house. Arrival place: highlights the natural, Espinillo area. Route: It is circulated through a ramp or stairs that have a strong bond with the trees. Finally, the entrance is given by a connector bridge, elevated over a pond, filter: pass the water, enter purified. All these elements form a private patio which have a strong link with the interior of the kitchen. The concrete screen, materialized as the edge of the patio and exterior boundary of the kitchen, allows us to see the street, without being looked at, observed.

We also worked with a very rational functional system, fundamentally taking into account the orientations. The social gathering spaces face the North, and interact with the central private patio, where family meet.

The bedrooms to the East have door windows and balconies, which focus and frame the Espinillos. There is nothing inside, there is nothing outside, what's inside is outside, Goethe.

We work with a concept of "versatile house" which is very important for us: allowing us to make small gatherings, or ones with many people. This leads to a search in the design of “what's flexible”. Therefore the house opens and closes, enlarges and shrinks according to the needs of the occasion. It has large doors windows that are inlaid on the walls.