‘two single-family homes’ by bauen in luque, paraguay image © monica matiauda all images courtesy of bauen
a flat square site left an almost infinite number of possibilities in which to place ‘two single-family homes’ in luque. paraguayan firm bauen took this tabula rasa as an opportunity to place the dwellings into a landscape which they would also build up. in terra-forming mirroring convex hills, an intimate middle garden space is left hidden between the houses, complete with a triangular pool. natural stone retaining walls cut through the hills, framing the living spaces in a double height curtain wall enclosure. slender steel columns branch off the rock partitions to support a curved roof that continue the hill-line to shade the interior while allowing plenty of daylight to illuminate the public areas. inside the earthen mounds are the private bedrooms and garage, leaving cars out of site. the dwellings are placed into a natural topography which is used to create visual and acoustic privacy, apart from a natural insulation.
central garden and pool shared by the residences image © monica matiauda
doors in the stone wall lead to the private functions image © monica matiauda
the two houses face each other defining a shared private space image © monica matiauda
roof plane is perched above the ground to allow light to the inside image © monica matiauda
curving canopy continues the hill image © monica matiauda
image © marcelo jimenez
living space image © monica matiauda
second storey of public area image © monica matiauda
image © marcelo jimenez
image © marcelo jimenez
image © marcelo jimenez
site plan
floor plan / level 0
floor plan / level 0
floor plan / level 0
floor plan / level 1
floor plan / level 1
section
elevation
formal diagram
final solution flanks private exterior space and blends into the landscape
project info:
design team: pedro cataldo, aldo cristaldo, beatriz heyn, rené sosa, jorge ortiz, olga villagra, alice peralta, constanza olmedo, nathaly cáceres, marcelo jiménezlocation: luque, paraguay area: 660 m2 (both houses) year: 2011 (started) – 2012 (completed)
