House in a eucalyptus forest
"Quién no conoce el bosque chileno, no conoce este planeta. De aquellas tierras, de aquel barro, de aquel silencio, he salido yo a andar, a cantar por el mundo"
Pablo Neruda, Confieso que he vivido, Seix Barral 1974
Located on a slope, in a peculiar and small "green valley" in the middle of the Chilean desert, in the forest of Aguas Claras, the house acts as a retaining wall between the upper most level of the site, the main access level, and the lowest level, which serves as the main inhabitable space of the house.
An impressive 40 cm thick concrete wall, 30 meters long, is punctured to give access to the house through an underground patio, which then hides the underground utilities.
Every room opens to the landscape towards the north, east and west side of the valley, but remains protected from the southern wind and humidity by the wall.
Metallic roofs are placed lightly upon the concrete Wall. While the dining/living room is made of concrete, the bedrooms and service "boxes" are composed of black painted locally sourced pine.
CREDITS:
Client: Private
Tipology: Forest House
Place: Cachagua, V Región, Chile
Year: 2015.08
Sqm: 224
Architectural Design: Matias Zegers Arquitectos, Andrea Del Pedro Pera Associate Architect - ATOMAA
Design Team: Daniela Bustamante Canales, Vicente Navarrete, Gonzalo Sebastian Cisternas Perez Landscape Architect: Rebecca Emmons
Photography: Andrea Del Pedro Pera
General contractor: Constructora Seacoast Ltda.
