CASA VALLE CLARO
Typology
HOUSING
Area
185sq m
Users
5
Status
BUILT
Architects
Germán Hauser
Year
2006
Program
Single family house
Location
Barrio Cerrado Valle Claro, Benavidez, Buenos Aires, Argentina
The house is located in a gated community in Benavidez, a town in the outskirts of the City of Buenos Aires, Argentina
The dimensions of the site, the surface to be provided and the orientation called for a single-story house. We therefore researched different architectural topics:
Boundaries
In order to preserve intimacy and avoid the exposition a house developed on the ground floor might entail, we have chosen to allocate the main features and its views toward the site’s rear, “offering its back” to the street, where different courtyards are located connecting secondary areas. Courtyards not only control views of the house but also soothe the sun’s direct incidence since they face west.
Topography
The site features a slight slope between its lateral boundaries. We have decided to incorporate the slope to the west façade featuring different walls and elements that enclose the patios and courtyard entrance. We thus allowed the house to “get well-rooted”. On the other hand, the rear façade features the house as an identifiable volume the rises softly from the ground.
Although the house features horizontal proportions three trees have been included in the vertical landscape seeking to create tension among the elements.
The structure
It features a concrete slab system supported by bearing walls made of ceramic blocks. This has in turn determined a series of openings. On the one hand, there are the large ones between the bearing walls, on the other, the smaller ones stand as carvings on the structural walls.
The light
Depending on the use and the dimensions of the areas, we have defined three heights one at 3.60 meters; the other at 2.80 meters and the last one at 2.20 meters. Considering these different levels, we have developed different cross sections that bring natural light into the areas throughout the day.
