schmidt arquitectos: beranda house, chile

‘beranda house’ by schmidt arquitectos, zapallar, chileall images courtesy of schmidt arquitectos

facing the pacific ocean from a steep dune in beranda, chile, the ‘beranda house’ by local practice schmidt arquitectos takes advantage of the uniquesite conditions to create a large open home on the sea. due to the unstable soil conditions, the home is anchored in three concrete retaining wallsthat safely support the house while emerging above ground and creating a large shell wrapping the main program. the residence can be consideredas a sequence through the site, starting from the road and ending at the water’s edge, where the circulation cuts and weaves down the slope througha variety of media, offering different spaces along the way. maintaining a low roof line, the user is first greeted by a natural stone masonry mass in the form of a wedge. the first set of stairs immerses the visitor into a solid wedge-shaped structure surrounded by local plants along the topography.crossing a glass wall threshold supported by natural wooden columns reveals a large continuous, double-height space where concrete, steel, wood,stone and glass come together in a lively mix, pointing attention to the western facade occupied by the blue waters. two triple-height atria bring natural light into all levels. rhythmic glulam beams are supported by a massive central reinforced girder. interior steps on a timber floor lead to a wood deck from the lower level containing all the bedrooms, ramping down to a last set of stairs embedded into the landscape finally reaching the shoreline.

view from the road

(left) stone stairway entry(right) interior of entry steps

entry

wood beams end in concrete girders

living room

long continuous space inside and out

wood walkway connects the house to the beach

view from the beach

entry from the road

site plan

floor plan / level 0

floor plan / level 1

floor plan / level -1

section

section

section

section

elevation

elevation

elevation

elevation

model

model

model

project info:

architects: horacio schmidt cortes, horacio schmidt radic, martin schmidt radiclocal architect: paloma sanchezlocation: loteo beranda, zapallar, chileconstruction: almarstructural calculation: VPAmaterials: concrete, wood, steel, glass, stonelighting: cristina aristiainterior design: somarriva dabovelandscape design: passalacqua paisajismosite area: 2010 m2built area: 420 m2project start: 2008construction: 2009-2011