Project: Las Escaleras Country House
Architects: Prado Arquitectos
Location: Hualpen, Chile
Area: 4,574 sf
Photographs by: Daniel Pinilla
The Las Escaleras Country House is a stunning modern residence located in Hualpen, Chile, on the edge of 200 feet tall cliffs. The location is in the middle of an untouched natural landscape and the design by Prado Arquitectos takes that into account.
As it is immediately noticeable, there are a lot of glazed surfaces that not only let the sunlight in, but also allow the inhabitants of this home to fully take in the spectacular views that the location has access to.
A house on the edge of the cliffs, 60 m (197 ft) above the sea, on Tumbes’s Península, at the Bío-Bío Region.
The concept of full dedication to the presence of the Pacific Ocean conditions the architectural gesture to an attitude of simplicity and modesty in space and formal resources to let flow the previous landscape.
In this way, the architectural program resolves in basic and essentials volumes with, literally, longitudinal black containers sitting in the descending levels of the edge and unaligned to not alter or touch the endemic and centennial vegetation of Peumos, Boldos, Ulmos.
The volume set adapts and submits to the arboreal primacy of the landscape. From the way of arrival, the dark and tight containers transform into illuminated, open and transparent spaces towards the immanent sea prominence once you discover the home access point.
Therefore, the architectural program flows and spills by the North-East wing where the bedrooms are located or the North-West wing where you will find the social chambers; between them, only the intercommunication staircase. The open and continuous interior is modulated by the constant rate made of the repeated solid wood trusses. These are made of 8×8” Cypress’s logs as the columns and beams and configure large slightly inclined planes at the ceiling.
As a consequence of the Ralco dam, time and reservoir drain, it was created a submerge Andean forest, a perfect black jungle where we can find pieces of cypress wood of 8×8”, from where we obtain wooden beams, columns and roof trusses which have a slightly tilted view of the sky.
Complementary materiality also refers to few items; Interior volumes in bare concrete, cement look floors or walls covered in wood, or black and white synthetic surfaces, denoting their status as living space accessory or complementary objects.
–Prado Arquitectos
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