Project: Castignani House
Architects: Ebeca
Location: Argentina
Area: 2,098 sf
Photographs by: Courtesy of Ebeca
Castignani House by Ebeca
The Castignani House is a wonderful contemporary dwelling placed amidst a pine forest in Argentina. It was designed by Ebeca with a simple goal in mind – to make the residence integrate harmoniously with the surrounding pine forest. That is why it is a monolithic piece of concrete with a single level and plenty of opening areas that connect to the outdoors.
The main idea of the project is that the architectural piece integrates harmoniously within the existing pine forest on the site. The proposal of the study was the generation of a monolithic piece of concrete which was located within a clearing that is within the site. The client’s search for the site was always clear in that sense, a summer home for the family within the forest.
From the beginning it was thought about the use of concrete as the only material in the whole project, black openings to frame the views towards the forest, a lot of transparency that allows that just by opening the carpentry one feels inside the forest. Faced with the homogeneity of concrete, wood plays an important role in achieving the right warmth in environments.
Within the functionality of the house, the spacious and integrated spaces in the social area were prioritized to be able to share them with the family and a corridor that gives access to the private area and services, ending with the access to the master suite.
The exterior gallery plays a fundamental role in the social life of the family, the premise was to have a space integrated into the covered social area that allows the interaction of both spaces, always maintaining the relationship with the forest and nature. For the orientation of the same, the views towards the sunsets in the fields of the city of Madariaga were taken into account.
A hole in the roof allows the views to be released towards the tops of the pines and in turn locates an outdoor living room with a fire pit to set the mood for evening gatherings. The main partition gives a compact image and once it frames the access and privacy to the social area and the gallery with its voids. It also houses a fireplace for winter family gatherings around it.
