House SM at Calafquén Lake / Claro + Westendarp arquitectos

Architects: Claro + Westendarp arquitectos
Location: Chile
Architects In Charge: Juan Ignacio Claro E.
Area: 260.0 m2
Project Year: 2017
Photographs: Francisco Boetsch T.

Structural Calculation: Gonzalo Concha L.

Text description provided by the architects. On a hill, with a particular view towards the lake and the Villarrica volcano on one side and towards a rocky cliff between the dense vegetation typical of the area, towards the other side, this house is located practically as a transverse transparent bridge that allows the user to experience both geographical situations in an attractive and contrasting way.

The volume takes a turn in a V-shape, in a gesture that places the volume very organically on the ground and accentuating it’s virtues. The building is accessed from below, where the secondary enclosures are, through a very light and transparent staircase until it reaches the second floor where the views are highlighted in a double height space, also featuring the beam structure of the house.

The interior space is simple, open, and always accentuating the external geographic duality, leaving the most public spaces towards the south east and the bedrooms towards the northeast. The terrace deck enclosures the spaces and gives movement to a rather straight volume, allowing the spatial experience from the outside. The materiality of the construction is in wood with a dark impregnant that resembles the color of the tree trunks of the area, resulting in perfect harmony with the place that finally, is the main protagonist of the project.