javier corvalán remembers saint-exupéry's trip to paraguay while designing the keche house

asunción, where le corbusier and saint-exupéry journeyed

rising among the lush palms of paraguay in the keche house by javier corvalán of laboratorio de arquitectura. the site in yby’anguy, san bernardino — outside the city of asunción — is defined by its vibrant forests leading toward lake ypacaraí with rolling hills beyond. the design team notes that the project was influenced by the history of the place, which saw a visit by le corbusier and petit prince author antoine de saint-exupéry in 1929. the architect and the author had actually flown together and landed in asunción. the pair had stayed at a hotel in san bernadino which had overlooked that same tranquil lake.

javier corvalán continues, explaining the significance of the trip to saint-exupéry’s writing: ‘his room window, which today is recognized in his honor, observed the landscape of lake ypacarai, and that, on the horizon, the patiño hill draws the hat or ‘the boa that swallowed the elephant.’ the work of the little prince was published years later and although it can be shown otherwise, we like to imagine that it was so.’

images © daniel ojeda | @r2.photo.arch (unless otherwise stated)

honoring the landscape with the keche house

javier corvalán, lead architect at paraguay-based laboratorio de arquitectura (see more here) completes this keche house to further honor the two geniuses who visited the asunción. the architecture is divided between two volumes — the embedded stone base, or ‘submarine,’ and the angled timber shell, or ‘periscope’ above it.

much like saint-exupéry looked upwards toward the stars, this house gazes upward with its inclining posture. projecting out from the hillside, the house frames the landscape to recall the author’s window toward the figural hills. the architect notes: ‘it seeks to see exactly what the little prince was looking at.’

thoughtful interiors curated by javier corvalán

while javier corvalán celebrates saint-exupéry with the house, he certainly honors le corbusier with his interiors. images show that the living space is filled with furniture designed by the french architect, including a pair of wassily chairs and a chaise lounge.

the presentation of the keche house is timely, as it closely follows the opening of the exhibition, an encounter with the petit prince in paris (see more here). the show displays original pages and drawings by antoine de saint-exupéry, who was very much influenced by his travels and flights around the world.

image via wikipedia

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project info:

project title: keche house

architecture: javier corvalán + laboratorio de arquitectura | @javiercorvalan_laboratorio

location: san bernardino, paraguay

design team: pamela nishijima, juan pablo paredes, guido martínez

structure: anibal aquilar

manufacturers: alupar, equipa SRL, ferroconti, forestal guarani , hidrocenter, impexpa SRL, industria barrios SA, ipale alta gama, la trepa, tecnimet SA, tecnocentro

completion: 2021

photography: images © daniel ojeda | @r2.photo.arch