'casa la reserva' emerges as a carved monolith in the mountainous colombian landscape

Casa la Reserva shapes a ‘perforated monolith’

1705 Studio and Obreval Architecture collaborate on the composition of ‘Casa la Reserva’, a single-family house located in La Calera, Colombia. The project draws from the allegorical image of a ‘monolith’, or a ‘hot coal’, perforated to host a home. The two main premises of the design are defined by the fundamental contradiction between privacy and large windows and the symbolic and spatial expression of the single-family house typologies. The relationship between mass and void, and light and shadow configure the main strategies to link the landscape and the structure’s promenade. The frame is manipulated and managed to enhance the natural environment.

all images by Juan Pablo Gutierrez unless stated otherwise

the arrangement follows a five-stage promenade

The design team follows an energy analysis performance for different typologies located in a climate similar to the municipality of La Calera. The design achieves an increase and control of the interior temperature through the correct orientation of the windows, the implementation of double walls, the increase in solid mass capable of retaining heat, and the location of the patio avoiding heat loss or wind gusts.

The house’s walkthrough is arbitrated by the ‘scenes’ of the ‘introduction’, ‘disorientation’, ‘questioning’, ‘reorientation’, and ‘culmination’. In this order, the first encounter is the threshold, forming an overlap of the two geometries shaping the entrance to the house. The second phase of ‘sensibilization’ finds the house’s access hall, narrow and dark, only illuminated by a skylight. The third part exposes the ‘bifurcation’ of paths. One side opens to a staircase with a mirror pool patio reflecting the sky and evoking the exterior, and the other side displays a curved wall leading to a corridor and a large floor-to-ceiling window framing a small garden’s vegetation. The fourth scene holds the stair’s ascent to the far-off landscape giving a complete visual of the entire complex and mountains. Lastly, the promenade finalizes with the framed landscape through a square opening highlighting the scenery.

image by Andrés Ortiz

two open patios are carved out of the monolithic mass | image by Andrés Ortiz

the form follows the concept of a ‘monolith’ as an analogy to the mountainous landscape

the threshold forms an overlap of the two geometries for the entrance of the house

neutral tones and wooden textures adorn the living room

the master bedroom assembles a private reading corner

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project info:

name: Casa la Reserva
designer: 1705 Studio + Obreval Architecture

design team: Andrés Ortiz – Pablo Zarama 

construction: RIR arquitectos

location: La Calera, Colombia

photography: Juan Pablo Gutierrez – Andrés Ortiz