recycled timber and prefabricated steel builds gussa’s lodge in tropical costa rica

situated in close vicinity to cahuita national park in limon, costa rica, ‘esquina verde’ by gussa is a house designed to evolve into a rental lodge to accommodate the many tourists who frequent the area’s rainforests and beautiful beaches. considering the tropical climate and using recycled timber and a modular steel frame, the modestly sized structures bring the outdoors in, providing the ideal place to experience the lush surroundings. 

all images courtesy of gussa

known for heavy rains and high humidity for the most part of the year, the caribbean side of costa rica is host to a wide variety of animals, including insects and snakes. gussa took this into consideration when designing the project by separating the structure from the ground, allowing deep overhangs and an open floor concept. houses in the caribbean side were originally constructed on wood piles to allow a breeze to flow freely beneath the structure to keep it cool under the hot sun, but mainly due to flash floods caused by heavy rains and the flat topography.

for the steel frame gussa used a prefabricated gussette bolted system, which was constructed near the city with a specialized workforce and materials. one of the main benefits of this was a reduction in on-site labor costs. ship paint was applied to the structure for a heavy duty finish with a much longer life span, which requires just a once a year wash to remove dust from it. palm overhangs were constructed and installed by local aboriginal people.

sliding doors all around the spaces give users the option to open the lodge up for fresh air. deep overhangs around the perimeter decks also enables the use of all the house, under both heavy sun or rain. for this particular project the client saved the wood from a hundred year old house that was being demolished. this timber was originally brought from the united states to build workers houses on the banana plantations.

project info:

project name: esquina verde

location: limon, costa rica

design: gussa

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