The grid that guides Espiral Arquitectos' project is defined by vertical axes spaced 122 cm apart. The interior is based on these axes, modulating each room. From the main entrance, on the left, are the kitchen and living-dining room; the bedrooms and bathrooms are located in the opposite wing, thus separating uses and levels of privacy.
The use of wood in the supporting structure and the slenderness of the house's pillars give it a lightness and warmth. To speed up the construction process and reduce the environmental impact, pre-assembled structures were used to facilitate the assembly of the modular system, the materials were manufactured locally.
House Los Pinos by Espiral Arquitectos. Photograph by Marcos Zegers.
Project description by Espiral Arquitectos
The project is conceived as a house to provide shelter for a family, in harmony with the environment of the upper area of Viña del Mar. Its temperate climate and its coastal watercourse infiltrates between pine forests and numerous ravines.
The design is conceived from its structure, in an organized succession of 26 frames (axes A - Z), very similar to each other, and that are spaced 122 cm. from one to another, from beginning to end.
These frames, with a very light, veiled composition of knots and joints, give body to the load-bearing structure of this house, from which the architectural space is configured.
Wood emerges as the most suitable material to work the tectonic language. A grid of 122 cm by 122 cm is defined, to optimize the commercial lengths of the wood and work with "half-wood" joints or locks, to ensure the spatial configuration according to the programmatic needs of the project.
The frame grid transmits its loads to the ground, each resting lightly on piles, minimizing the impact of the house on the landscape. In addition to being its bones, they are the sincere expression that is always shown, both inside and outside the house.
The frames also adapt to the topography and the landscape, decreasing in height, in the east/west direction, generating a different spatiality between the sleeping area (private) and the living/dining/kitchen area (public).
The pre-assembly of the frames were done on site, accelerating the assembly and assembly process, reducing the amount of humidity and speeding up the construction process. Likewise, all the materials used were manufactured domestically and close to the construction site, reducing the carbon footprint compared to other construction materials.
These primary bones, full of light, fill their edges strategically, with opaque walls to the south to generate privacy with the neighbors, and become transparent to the north to allow light and ventilation to enter.
In the same grid, the circulations that surround the house are projected towards the exterior of the house, supported by the projection of the same structuring frames, the ramp to the south accompanies the courtyards of light, partial interior views and accents in the vegetation. The corridor to the north accompanies the landscape and the topography of the terrain, transforming itself into stairs and steps leading to the garden.
