Project: AV HOUSE
Architects: Cristián Romero Valente
Location: Maitencillo, Chile
Area: 3,056 sf
Photographs by: Pablo Casals Aguirre
AV House by Cristian Romero Valente
Cristián Romero Valente has designed the AV house in Maitencillo, Chile. The residence is placed on a steep sloping site but that was used to give the home beautiful views of the Pacific Ocean to the east. The style is characteristic for this studio which you can notice from another one of their projects, the LC House in Lo Barnechea.
The AV house is located in a steep slope. It is an uneven terrain next to a gorge that looks to the south, and it does not face the sea at the east. In order to not miss this view and to protect it from the wind, the house was partially rotated facing east, offering direct visual access to the Pacific Ocean.
The highest point of the house lines up with the street level and the parking space. This way the view to the sea is not blocked. The house respect the horizontality of it’s environment that extends to each of its levels. This allows that the sea is at sight from inside of the house, as well as from the surrounding outdoor spaces.
The access ramp functions as an independent element that connects the street and the parking space with the house. The need of an access ramp constitutes an architectural opportunity: In order for the ramp inclination to offer suitable mobility and a smooth circulation, it was required to establish a separation between the house and the street.
The interior access to the house is at a mid-level height; below the street level and above the ground floor. Once inside the house there is an access hall with a balcony that looks towards the double height living room. The balcony also offers an open view to the coast.
The material used for the construction of the house is reinforced concrete with board-formed finish. The purpose of this choice of material is to make the marks visible of the woodgrain when painting it white. This choice of color aims to further the effect of a luminous atmosphere that extends to each enclosure within the house, complemented with a series of skylights and light courtyards.
The roof is a habitable space, which is accessed from behind the wall of the main façade. It is connected to the rest of the house through a circulation route constituted by the ramp and the hall. This way the circulation is an ascendant path that rounded off with the horizontal line of the roof, which works as a spot to contemplate the sea.
