pezo von ellrichshausen embeds concrete 'loba house' into the terrain of coastal chile

in coastal chile, pezo von ellrichshausen has completed a concrete structure described as ‘more than a hut but less than a house’. embedded into the terrain, the opaque ‘loba house’ faces a sea lion reserve on the pacific ocean. in developing the project, the design team played with perceptions of proportion to create a monolithic object with an ambiguous scale. ‘in its under dimensioned thickness, in its narrow and tall proportion, the building could be read as an inhabited wall that runs perpendicular to the natural topography,’ say the architects.

all images by pezo von ellrichshausen

according to pezo von ellrichshausen, the height of this ‘inhabited wall’ is determined by two lines: a continuous horizon, and a stepped sequence of six platforms that descend towards the sea. the roof terrace serves as an extension of the landscape, while internally, a single cavernous room is interrupted by three massive concrete columns and two bridges. beds are located on the upper of the six platforms, with low ceilings, while sofas or tables are found on the lower levels.

the structure is described as being ‘more than a hut but less than a house’

carefully positioned openings are found on both sides of the long volume, with overhead skylights also designed to naturally illuminate specified parts of the interior. a corner aperture, articulated around a round pillar, is the only window with unframed glass flushed to the outer concrete surface. externally, on the accessible roof terrace, a stepped geometric structure provides a place to sit and watch the sunset, elevated above the landscape.

the residence is embedded into the terrain

a corner window is articulated around a round pillar

a single cavernous room is interrupted by three massive concrete columns

sofas and seating will be positioned at the lower levels

a stepped geometric structure provides a place to sit and watch the sunset

‘loba house’ faces a sea lion reserve on the pacific ocean

the building can be read as an inhabited wall that runs perpendicular to the natural topography

the design team played with perceptions of proportion to create a monolithic object

project info:

name: loba house
location: coliumo peninsula, tome, VIII region, chile
client: marcelo sanchez, janis hananias
architects: mauricio pezo, sofia von ellrichshausen
collaborators: diego perez, thomas sommerauer, teresa freire, beatrice pedroti, wiktor gago
builder: carvajal & cabrer
structure: peter dechent
consultants: marcelo valenzuela, daniel garrido
plot surface: 1,000 sqm / 10,764 sqf
built surface: 70 sqm / 753 sqf
design date: 2016
construction date: 2017
photography: pezo von ellrichshausen