Vivienda Colectiva – 10 Casas, Quilpué.

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Located in Quilimarí, 25km from Los Vilos, an historic settlement in which there are cultural fragments that date back to the colony. The request consists in design and construction of a summer house located on the slopes of the “puntiagudo” hill, on an irregular and difficult to access terrain, together with the arduous task to found local workers to the construction, defined the axes of the design.

 We think of the house from the maritime container, as a portable modular structure to be able to pre-assemble in a local wokshop far from the destination, with the idea of shortcut the construction process time in the final  site. For this we used four high cube containers [12×2.35×2.7m], as it should be to their greater free height, three were sized in half to join longitudinally through the side faces to build a unique environment whose dimensions are around 70m². With them we assembled the lower floor, where the program was destined to the public area of the house, extended by means of a glazed facade towards the view of the valley and distant sea. Strongly oriented to the south, it was necessary to develop a linear skylight close to the north wall to provide sunlight to the interior.

 For the second floor we use an entire container, projected for rooms, we pursue to separate it and establish another relationship with the landscape, the difference in length between levels 1 and 2 enabled the possibility of developing a terrace on the roof floor, achieving at the same time on the first floor a marked presence of this volumetry.

 Considering in the second level the slim width 2,35 meters that the container has, we opened one of its lateral faces to expand it, forming a V that added 150 centimeters to the center, without losing the shape at the ends of the container and providing the necessary space to develop the circulations and the living spaces.

 The adjustment in the shape of the container [Level + 2.80] and the intention of shading to avoid excessive overheating during the summer season, was solved with an exostructure as a membrane that seeks to homogenize the volumetry and separate the lower volume to the upper one, like a sculpture that needs a pedestal to enhance its value. This skin was developed by a steel structure and impregnated wood pieces spaced to filter the light.

 In accordance with the primitive condition with which the design begins, the interior coatings are simple: vitrified wood for the floors, white impregnant paint was used for the walls and ceiling. For the appliances in site, We think of them as programmatic elements that help to build the interior space while satisfying their own function; they are objects with a certain geometry that program, fill the empty space while limit the spaces, making diffuse areas without being rigid enclosures.