A Cliffside Home in Chile Captures Ocean Views While Fending Off Stiff Winds

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Project Details:

Location: Matanzas, Chile

Architect: ERRE Arquitectos / @raimundogutierrezf

Footprint: 2,580 square feet

Structural Engineer: Joaquín Valenzuela

Photographer: Nico Saieh / @nicosaieh

From the Architect: "For the general design of the house, which is positioned on a slope near a 213-foot-cliff, three main factors were considered in the decision-making process: to protect an exterior sector from the strong south westerly wind that prevail in the area, to maintain privacy from the neighbors on the north and south sides, and to take full advantage of the sea view.

"A U-shaped volume was proposed, which was placed in such a way that there are two parallel and hermetic volumes on their faces toward the neighboring boundaries, and the third, which is totally permeable and parallel to the coastal edge. As a result of this configuration, in the center there is an outdoor patio protected from the wind, which has the distinction of being visually connected to the sea through the double-glazed common area.

"The common area space is the central axis of the house, while the rest of the programmatic elements (bedrooms, bathrooms, laundry, and roofed parking area) are distributed in the two volumes perpendicular to them. Due to the tightness of the home’s north and south facades, semi-open courtyards were proposed to provide better lighting and ventilation to certain rooms. In addition, several of these patios have a views of the sea.

"The home’s main structure is composed of metal framing to build large spaces without support (especially in the common areas) and the secondary structure is composed of pine. For the exterior cladding, a vertical grid of brushed pine was designed, which functions as a lattice in the roofed parking area."