Casa RWO of Gonzalo Rufin Arquitectos lives wonderfully with his surroundings from the ridge of a rough back in Pupuya, Chile. The history of the project is meditation about how placement and shape can promote a dialogue between architecture and landscape. The house at the highest and exposed point of the site is both a viewpoint and a protection that frees the panoramic view of the La Vega de Pupuya valley and the distant Pacific.
The characteristic gesture of the house is its bridge -like shape, a horizontal volume that is easily sitting on a number of repeated wooden ribs. This structure supports the house more than; It sets a rhythm and leads the movement along the outer route that runs the length of the building. Residents and guests move from admission, in the past storage rooms developed for surfboards and wetsuits, towards local living areas. Each room is accessible regardless of this sidewalk, a design train that offers privacy and a feeling of autonomy within the compact plan.
Designer: Gonzalo Rufin Architects
Materials in Casa RWO are selected for both strength and heat. The primary structure is a steel frame that is balanced by the tactile softness of wood that defines the ribs and a large part of the facade. This combination visually combines the house and strengthens the exposed main height against the region's coastal winds. Expenses made of wood enable residents to modulate light and privacy and to react to the relocation conditions all day. These details face the functionality of the house, but also of adaptability – essential quality for a house in such an elementary environment.
The inner program is direct and efficient. Two bedrooms and two bathrooms are arranged next to a kitchen and an open living space in the open apartment. Each room is bright, connected to nature and, thanks to the independent entries, offers a certain amount of separation. The result is a flexible retreat that takes into account both intimate family life as well as the ebb and the flow of friends in a footprint that remains minimal and modest.
The presence of Casa RWO in the landscape is defined more by understatement than by a spectacle. The elongated profile and the reserved pallet help the house to curb into its Ridge-Top-Barsch. At the same time, the repetition of its wooden ribs repeats both persistence on coastal winds and the textures of the surrounding vegetation. The project is quite spacious, blessed with wide views, simple external access and rooms for leisure and adventure, all of which are here for the experience of life.
Casa RWO in construction already offers a convincing model for locally sensitive architecture in the coastal regions of Chiles. It is a house that was developed for the rhythms of surfing, for which changing light and the changing weather and the calm view of the landscape was developed. It is a thoughtful reaction to the place – a home that frames its views, protects its inhabitants and expands the possibilities of light life in the country quietly.
