The materials and construction systems chosen have been fundamental for the development of the new shelter designed by Bermúdez Arquitectos. A metal façade-roof system is used, as well as a modular metal structure that allows the shelter to be built in layers.
The façade-roof is made up of several layers. The first waterproof protection layer is made up of a metal sheet and a waterproofing layer. The second thermal layer is made of expanded polystyrene and rock wool. And the third layer closes the enclosure with OSB sheets that provide the interior with a warm environment.
The modular metal structure was built dry using the “Steel framing” system. The modular system involves a standardisation of the spaces, allowing the house to grow in the future following the same structural module. The initial module, which includes the main room, a kitchen and a dining area with a porch, can be expanded to form a house with more rooms and outdoor spaces.
Carupa House by Bermúdez Architects. Photograph by Bé estudio, Paola Pabón and Santiago Beaumé.
Project description by Bermúdez Arquitectos
The project seeks to achieve the greatest efficiency in both its construction and its operation, structural and bioclimatic, for which the materials and construction systems chosen are fundamental to this objective. The Hounter Douglas metal façade-roof system together with the modular metal structure, allows the development of a layered envelope system, which contains thermal insulation, waterproofing and vapor barrier materials, generating the greatest thermal comfort by closing this façade package with OSB sheets that provide the interior with a warm and domestic environment. In the same way and working in conjunction with the envelope system, the windows in the zinu system with thermal break, guarantee the functioning of the insulation while allowing the reception of natural light in all spaces of the shelter.
Located in the middle of the countryside, in a private nature reserve at 3,500 meters above sea level, Casa Carupa is a high mountain refuge that adapts to the needs of living in a high mountain tropical climate, also known as sub-páramo, as it is an intermediate point between the páramo and the high Andean forest, whose temperatures suddenly fluctuate between 0 and 21 degrees C in a single day.
Under these climatic and geographical conditions (with privileged views of the Andes, far from everything and in a place that aims to preserve the pre-existing natural conditions as much as possible), the project is conceived following several premises.
First, it is designed to be built as a dry prefabricated single-room shelter with the intention of bringing the vast majority of the materials pre-assembled and cut and making the process a dry assembly with the least impact on the environment. The only wet process with concrete is done in the 15 foundation blocks. The structure of this volume was built dry using the Steel framing system, a very light standardized structural system where all the profiles contribute to the stability of the whole, and a Steel Deck plate with sandwich-type dry slab and 20mm OSB.
The project is based on a 4m x 4m modulation, where each module houses the bedroom, kitchen, living room and dining room with porch. These modules are assembled with an intermediate strip of 2m x 4m for the bathroom and the extension of the social area, thus forming a rectangular volume topped by a sawtooth-shaped roof.
The modularity of the construction system and the standardization of the spaces means that the house can grow over time with the same structural and spatial module, forming a home with more rooms and outdoor spaces.
The envelope is carefully designed to achieve the greatest possible thermal comfort without consuming energy. To this end, the windows and skylights of this structure are designed to face the morning sun in order to take maximum advantage of solar radiation and capture it inside. Once captured, the intention is to keep it as much as possible inside, reducing heat loss. The thermal package of the façade, slab and roof is made up of several layers of waterproof protection (metal sheet tile and waterproofing layer), thermal (intermediate layers of expanded polystyrene and rock wool) and vapour barrier to achieve a “warm structure” system. The windows were specified with thermal break, allowing large openings to the landscape without losing insulation efficiency.
In search of the necessary discretion to land in such a place, the shelter seeks to differentiate itself from the landscape without becoming conspicuous. For this reason, a unique material has been chosen for the façade made of stapled metal tile painted in the oven with a navy blue colour chosen for this occasion. This color complements the general color palette of the landscape, allowing the house to blend into the high Andean forest without resorting to direct military-style camouflage.
In contrast to the austere and cold exterior, the interior walls are covered in OSB wood panels, which, in addition to a warm-colored vinyl floor, guarantee a feeling of warmth and domesticity.
