North of Mexico City, on uneven ground that only offers a few meters wide and 16 meters from the curb drop to the lowest point of the land is the home design Canterbury looking to take advantage of terrain.

courtesy Sobrado + Ugalde

Following the landform we opted for a design that surprised from its entry because only from the top level it can be seen as a volume that connects to a bridge which is the entrance.

The main challenges in this project were to create a garden with direct relationship to the house, and how to give presence to the front of the house from the sidewalk level.

courtesy Sobrado + Ugalde

We chose to give the house plant just 1.20 meters above the garden, which in this case is the lowest point of the ground, reaching only the top level of the sidewalk for a volume that contains all the vertical circulations of the house. This contains the entrance hall to the house, and a garage linked by a bridge on metal structure which is the main entrance of the house.

Roofs become planters, fully integrated to the project, mainly to the access facade.

courtesy Sobrado + Ugalde

The whole project revolves around a 120 m2 terrace with a covered area of 25 m2 located in the middle of the house. The terrace is traversed by a tree that was respected from the original design, which will serve to provide shade and give life to the terrace.

This terrace is located on level 01, along to the lounge, kitchen, dining room and service area. The mezzanine level has a half height. And, the terrace serves as the focal point to all of the house’s views.

courtesy Sobrado + Ugalde

This whole area has a large window that lets us see the vegetation of the area creating a cozy and relaxing environment.

At the next level 02, there are 3 bedrooms with bathroom, dressing room and a TV room.

The lowest level of the house or basement level contains a multipurpose room of 65 m2 in extent, with two windows that open space to integrate with the house’s garden.

courtesy Sobrado + Ugalde

+ All images courtesy Sobrado + Ugalde

Project: Canterburry 39
Architect: Sobrado + Ugalde
Construction: 420 square meters Start date: March 2012
Delivery date: October 2012
Location: Condado de Sayavedra, Atizapan de Zaragoza Estado de Mexico.
Photography: German Cuellar

+ All images courtesy Sobrado + Ugalde

courtesy DiA Studio | 3D Notos

courtesy DiA Studio | 3D Notos

One Column House is an extension and refurbishment for an existing small old summer house on the shores of a Patagonian lake in the South of Argentina.

The conditions of the existing house lack of an optimum spatial and functional distribution that could fulfill the needs and the manners that the summer house is being lived and experienced: the existing house sits far away from the lake shore neglecting the most privileged views towards the lake and its landscape, while at the same time both neighbor houses at the sides block the vistas towards the lake since their footprints were settled closer to the lake shore. Besides, the interior space was characterized by a deep dark dinning/ living area with limited relation to the outside with a deficient connection between the kitchen and the private and public rooms. At the same time, the small size bedrooms were inefficient to cope with the actual family growth.

courtesy DiA Studio

DiA Studio decided to incorporate a detached volume as an extension to the existing house which grounds closer to the lake shore and oriented towards the best landscape vistas, creating an internal patio between the existing house and the extension volume. Thus the new extension establishes a clear division between the public and private areas, the old and the new. While the existing house will host two large bedrooms, the main bathroom in the ground floor and a secondary bedroom in the first level, all public areas will be linearly organized within the extension volume: open kitchen, dining place and the lounge area; all these spaces will share a wide open wooden terrace deck facing and open to the lake shore.

courtesy DiA Studio | 3D Notos

courtesy DiA Studio | 3D Notos

The extension will be mainly constructed by a reinforced concrete structure: a planar roof runs widely from one neighbor boundary line to the other and is strengthened by four inverted beams that converge in the only load bearing vertical element of the house. This column is formed by a pair of twisted concrete shear walls performing in different ways.

courtesy DiA Studio

courtesy DiA Studio

One Column House researches on the multiple performances the architectural element of a column could achieve beyond its structural capacity. Firstly, it is an element that marks a central place by integrating in itself a fireplace, while articulating the program by organizing the different functional spaces around it and orienting site-specific vistas. At the same time, it stores the fireplace logs and works as an infrastructural device where the rain water pipes are embedded within the twisted shear walls while opening up the concrete roof enabling natural zenithal light come through.

Construction is scheduled by the first quarter of 2013.

+ Project facts

One Column House | Patagonia, Argentina

Project: Lake House Extension | Río Negro, Argentina
description: Extension & Refurbishment
function: Residential

Data    
Building surface: 160 m²
Building volume: 480 m³
Building site: 620 m²

Concept, Schematic, Design Development    March 2012 till September 2012.
Construction March 2013.

Project team    
Design: DiA Studio – Luis Etchegorry architect;
Executive architect: Sebastián Costanzi.
Structural Engineer: Urbana Saiquen
Visualizations: 3D Notos

+ All images courtesy DiA Studio