Awasi Patagonia Hotel by Felipe Assadi and Francisca Pulido. Mountain camouflage

Description of the project by Felipe Assadi and Francisca Pulido

The hotel is located 6 kilometers from the Torres del Paine National Park, three hours from the nearest town center, and it is formed by twelve rooms and their common areas. It began with the self-imposed condition of hiding it in the landscape; the vastness of the Patagonian plain did not allow the interruption of a "building" in a place of permanent silence. That is why we opted for isolated units, like cabins "scattered" in the meadow at the edge of a forest composed of Lenga, Ñirre and Cohigue.

The design, which originates in the traditional constructions of the extreme south of Chile, leaves the structure practically outside the enclosures by pillars organized by a grid of approximately one meter. The fragility and humidity of the terrain suggested high "palafito" constructions, and the distance and the hard climate conditions made us prefabricate most of the hotel.

The modulation of the pillars facing the forest and the choice of wood (Lenga), which over time acquires a platinum tone, added to a precise location for each unit, make the the buildings be mixed with the landscape in certain conditions.

We planned for those who were going to build. Nothing that could not be done with local technologies and their precarious and scarce labor was designed. There were no sophisticated constructive details as they were not important. In that way, we avoided all possible mistakes that would be difficult and expensive to correct. And we adopted that premise as a design methodology.