bauen: two single family homes in paraguay

‘two single-family homes’ by bauen in luque, paraguay image © monica matiauda all images courtesy of bauen

a flat square site left an almost infinite number of possibilities in which to place ‘two single-family homes’ in luque. paraguayan firm bauen took this tabula rasa as an opportunity to place the dwellings into a landscape which they would also build up. in terra-forming mirroring convex hills, an intimate middle garden space is left hidden between the houses, complete with a triangular pool. natural stone retaining walls cut through the hills, framing the living spaces in a double height curtain wall enclosure. slender steel columns branch off the rock partitions to support a curved roof that continue the hill-line to shade the interior while allowing plenty of daylight to illuminate the public areas. inside the earthen mounds are the private bedrooms and garage, leaving cars out of site. the dwellings are placed into a natural topography which is used to create visual and acoustic privacy, apart from a natural insulation.

central garden and pool shared by the residences image © monica matiauda

doors in the stone wall lead to the private functions image © monica matiauda

the two houses face each other defining a shared private space image © monica matiauda

roof plane is perched above the ground to allow light to the inside image © monica matiauda

curving canopy continues the hill image © monica matiauda

image © marcelo jimenez

living space image © monica matiauda

second storey of public area image © monica matiauda

image © marcelo jimenez

image © marcelo jimenez

image © marcelo jimenez

site plan

floor plan / level 0

floor plan / level 0

floor plan / level 0

floor plan / level 1

floor plan / level 1

section

elevation

formal diagram

final solution flanks private exterior space and blends into the landscape

project info:

design team: pedro cataldo, aldo cristaldo, beatriz heyn, rené sosa, jorge ortiz, olga villagra, alice peralta, constanza olmedo, nathaly cáceres, marcelo jiménezlocation:  luque, paraguay area:  660 m2 (both houses) year: 2011 (started) – 2012 (completed)