andres alonso's los miradores overlooks córdoba from atop its highest hill

‘los miradores’ is a complex of four temporary-use houses, centered in a 2,368 square meter steep-sloped plot on the highest area of villa allende, córdoba, argentina. the notion of framing views and sight is a major theme in this project designed by argentinean architect andres alonso. when designing these structures, photographed by gonzalo viramonte, he wanted to create a unique experience for los miradores’ visitors. this project — like most of alonso’s work — is concerned with the idea of singularity in the age of globalism, an age which threatens the ‘singularity that characterizes each region, and that which gives identity and from where man has built.’

all images by gonzalo viramonte

to break out of the mold of stereotypical architecture, alonso adds a touch of artfulness to his structures and uses the landscape to add beauty to the homes. as the architect puts it, his own work attempts to be ‘a symbol of progress, which contributes to the transformation of man from observed object to observing subject, from the cause of his symptom and the symptom of his time.‘ 

each residence consists of a rectangular telescope hall that frames the flora on the rolling hills below, and is connected by a perpendicular brick structure that runs from end to end between the four homes. beneath the gaze of the protruding halls, a swimming pool is cut out of the mountain. lined with brick, the deep blue of the water emanates from the red clay that surrounds it. here, the colors match the surroundings and even the stuccoed white of the hall seems to match the clouds in its elevated position.

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