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A Severe Concrete House Set in the Woods

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Concrete walls direct light and provide organized views within this 1,790 square foot concrete home in Mar Azul, on the coast of Argentina.

The compact house is simply two intersecting perpendicular forms with long views each way out.

The visibility through the house is as important as the opacity of the gray concrete walls.

Located in a clearing among trees of various heights, and with its bold deck suspended high above the ground, the house appears a little alien.

In the forest, yet not of it.

Concrete formwork creates walls that look like rammed earth, but are not.

The concrete was mixed with a plasticizer in the mix itself with little amounts of water used to harden.

This resulted in a very hard compact material that does not require sealing to keep moisture out.

Its bare concrete deck – with no railing – would never pass a building code in California. It separates the viewer from the ground.

By contrast with the severe exterior, inside the concrete shell, the house is partly lined on the inside with warm golden wood, as if to keep separate the wood from the surrounding trees.

A large, flexible social area, integrated into the kitchen accommodates different activities for the guests that are expected.

The bedrooms and bathrooms are nestled and buried under the general “ground level” of the house, completely private and warm..

Although the house seems visually completely open, in fact the architects took great care to create warm private areas within.

Via Homedsgn