“8 Houses” is a housing complex, commissioned to MOLA Estudio, located in Castelar town, in Morón Partido, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, some 30 km west of the nation's capital, in the western suburbs of Buenos Aires, part of the Greater Buenos Aires metropolitan area. Castelar is the westernmost city of the Morón Partido, and borders on Ituzaingó Partido.

The area is formed by single-family homes that coexist with clubs and public squares and makes this neighbourhood a very busy area.

The project has been selected as Shortlist for the Mies Crown Hall Prize, 2022 MCHAP. emerge
The land dimension (the plot measures 17.36 meters wide and 45.78 meters deep with southwest orientation), its neighbours and land orientation conditioned the design decisions by MOLA Estudio; the stacking design, the mix of different textures and transparencies coexisting with nature enhances the architectural design.

The design concept was to create several residential units sitting on the existing upper right party wall and paying attention to orientation, opening the homes toward the left party wall, looking for the northwestern sun.

The access is via the ground floor for pedestrians and vehicles to all the units, whit independent access to each home. Going up, we will find the living-dining room/kitchen which expands into a raised and private garden 2.20 meters above the ground floor and connects both spaces. On the second floor, are the bedrooms and bathrooms.
 


8 Houses by Lucas Nicolas Geya. Photograph by Javier Agustin Rojas.


8 Houses by Lucas Nicolas Geya. Photograph by Javier Agustin Rojas.

Project description by MOLA Estudio

The 8 houses complex is located in Castelar town, in the western suburbs of Buenos Aires, where single-family homes coexist with clubs and public squares and make this neighborhood a very busy area.

The building land measures 17.36 meters wide and 45.78 meters deep with a southwest orientation. The design decision was to create several residential units resting on the existing upper right party wall and open towards the left party wall, looking for the northwestern sun.

The ground floor serves as the main pedestrian and vehicular entrance to all the units. The pedestrian circulation is next to a long concrete wall that guides us to each of the brick boxes, which are the independent access of each living unit. Next to each box, we can find their corresponding parking lot.

As we go up, we will find the living-dining room/kitchen which expands into a raised and private garden 2.20 meters above the ground floor and connects both spaces. On the second floor, we will have bedrooms and bathrooms. The idea of expanding up and out is something very characteristic of this complex. It allows us to connect each home to the outside, receive better sunlight due to the elevation of each garden and keep the vehicle area isolated.

The complex is made up of 8 housing units and ends towards the front in a two-story studio with the style of the same house, but with the difference that the expansion is on the second floor and towards the front.

The land dimension, its neighbors and land orientation conditioned our design decisions; the stacking design, the mix of different textures and transparencies coexisting with nature enhances the architectural design.

More information

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Architects
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MOLA Estudio. Lead Architecs.- Alejo Fernandez, Lucas Geya.
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Project team
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Francisco Ricart, Julian Marchetti, Gimena Caffo, Alejo Del Grosso, Marcos Bartellone.
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Collaborators
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Engineer.- Claudio Ianesse.
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Client
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Buchardo Desarrollos.
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Area
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1,400 m².
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Dates
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2021.
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Location
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Castelar, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
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Manufacturers
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Armaferro, FV, Redimat, Tendenza.
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Photography
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Javier Agustín Rojas.
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MOLA Estudio. It is an architecture studio, constituted as a collective, founded in Buenos Aires and led by the architects, Alejo Fernandez, Lucas Geya, Franco D'Aversa, Julián Marchetti and Francisco Ricart.

The name is a declaration of intent: "MOLA is what they call an old machine that was used on construction sites, its real name is «rubble grinder». What this old machine does is grind and mix rubble and rubble that the same work generates with different proportions of cement and sand, thus making the necessary material to make subfloors, folders, plaster, etc. The group believes that despite its old age it is a contemporary and responsible way of building, its works since practically no waste is generated, and everything is transformed back into matter. This concept of taking something to transform it into something else is something that represents them; they do not conceive of architecture without its site, and they do not agree with object architecture. Their projects are the result of the variables that the placemarks them, their close and close neighbours, their orientation, the existing constructions and even the original vegetation of the place. All these variables together with the program and regulations enter into his "mola" at the time of projecting".
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Published on: August 28, 2022
Cite: "Paying attention to the context. 8 Houses Complex by Estudio Mola" METALOCUS. Accessed
<http://www.metalocus.es/en/news/paying-attention-context-8-houses-complex-estudio-mola> ISSN 1139-6415
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