Construction Diary: An Architect’s Home Overflows With Greenery—With No White Walls in Sight

Ana Smud’s residence in the Vicente López suburb of Buenos Aires is surrounded by gardens and wrapped in timber, concrete, and glass.

Nov 27, 2024 - 20:51
Construction Diary: An Architect’s Home Overflows With Greenery—With No White Walls in Sight

Ana Smud’s residence in the Vicente López suburb of Buenos Aires is surrounded by gardens and wrapped in timber, concrete, and glass.

Architect Ana Smud’s residence in the Vicente López suburb of Buenos Aires is surrounded by gardens and wrapped in timber, concrete, and glass.

While it’s not technically within the city limits of Buenos Aires, the neighborhood of Vicente López isn’t really considered a suburb. This leafy, mostly middle-class enclave lies just 30 minutes north of the elegant plazas of Recoleta and the buzzy restaurants of Palermo, and locals consider it part of the capital. Lately, more and more urbanites are moving to the area, drawn by its quiet streets lined with two-story homes, some with Art Deco lines and others with Beaux-Arts details.

When Argentinian architect Ana Smud began looking for a piece of land to build her own house from scratch, Vicente López was her first—and only—choice. We chatted with Ana to learn how she brought her dream home to life.

The 5,000-square-foot lot had an existing brick perimeter wall, which was starting to crumble. Smud decided restore it, thus adding privacy to the glass-walled ground level and the surrounding garden.
A view of the front door, made of local lapacho. Above it, the second level is enveloped in wood cladding, whose deep brown tones are starting to fade and lighten.

A Coveted Site 

Ana Smud: I grew up in Nuñez, just blocks away from Vicente López, so the area feels very close to my life. I always really liked it. In the capital, which is so near, you practically don’t have residential neighborhoods like this anymore. The scale is so lovely.

The third-level balcony is planted with vines that will gradually grow and cascade over the home’s facade.

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