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Mar Azul is a seaside resort on the coast of Buenos Aires, located 12 km south of Villa Gesell, with an extensive beach of dunes and lush virgin forest of conifers. Owners, and knowledgeable members of the study years in this place chose precisely the splendid scenery of the forest to build a small summer house. – BAK Architects.
The proposal
The environmental and landscape characteristics of the installation site, the particularity of its intended use and the lack of a customer conditional on the project, allowed to undertake this work as a chance to experiment with both functional issues such as aesthetic solutions constructive. The search for alternatives would have only three limitations: that the work was of very low impact on the landscape, which is set at a low budget and subsequent maintenance was almost null. With these premises, the house located in an area with 43 pine trees and gentle slope to the street, was settled as a strong prism, free, in height, defined by a concrete enclosure in sight, texture and color harmony with the forest, and large panes of glass that allow seamless integration with the landscape and that in turn reflect it. Additional functions (half bath, storage and water tank) assembled in a vertical prism of wood hiding in the trees. – BAK Architects.
The functional organization
The simple volume that hosts the main functions was solved by proposing two distinct areas: one exposed, fully glazed, surrounded by a large wooden deck, designed to develop the activities of meeting full integration with the forest, as if it were a gazebo, and other protected, controlled openings, aimed at the bedrooms, bathroom and a place to cook. The house has no proper access and you can enter the area via glazed sliding doors located in two of its facades, this special way of income together with a spatial indeterminacy seating area allows various ways to use . On the other side two metal sliding doors securely closed, when required, this place of the flexible use of other environments.
The structural solution
The floor of the house of 6.50mx 10.30m is covered by a concrete slab resting sight, without intermediate supports, through walls of exposed concrete and iron profiles located on the perimeter of it. These steel columns projected minimum section, in order to integrate them and disappear, aligned with the openings of anodized aluminum. – BAK Architects.
The tower that houses the ancillary services is timber frame and cladding treated pine saligna tables.
Construction
The maritime forest microclimate (shade, low wind) and frequent use of the house where warm or hot seasons, the constructive solution was viable, low cost and rapid implementation, a concrete enclosure at a hearing without additions to improve thermal insulation. So the cover is resolved without subfloor slope or waterproof membrane, just the slab was made with a sufficient slope to allow free drainage of rain water on three sides. In addition, the expressive quality of concrete and its resistance and impermeability, made unnecessary any type of surface finish, also achieving a low cost of implementation at the ends and unnecessary future maintenance as the finish of the inner and outer concrete saw was just a hand sanding to remove adhesions own execution. On the other hand the color and texture of concrete formwork made of wooden planks is a powerful and unobtrusive presence at a time, allowing the work to be expressed in harmony with the forest. The interior walls are plastered and painted bricks with white latex, smoothing the floor is cement and the meeting between the two was resolved with a recessed aluminum profile, by way of socket. The smoothing of concrete is divided by plate of aluminum in sections of 3.10 m x 3.10m (computer module) and glazing sector ends with openings of anodized aluminum with a channel, also in aluminum, to receive condensation that will occur when the house is heated in winter because of budget reasons were not used glass with air chamber. – BAK Architects.
The treatment of light
Knowing the ambient atmosphere generated by the forest, we knew it was paramount to ensure a generous arrival of light to all premises and also the perimeter glass panels, it was important to have light into the center of the plant. So that it projected a caladura in ele, coinciding with two sides of the bath, located in the center of the plant. These deep cuts because flaps are attached with exposed concrete beams hung upside down, place in the bathroom and in the living area, light effects that vary with the passage of the day. In relation to artificial light sought to emphasize the indeterminacy of the main area of the house with light fixtures that varies the light direction and light intensity. The control of light and visual from the outside was resolved with black out curtains in the bedrooms and boile in the glaze. – BAK Architects.
Furniture
Furniture specially designed for this house were made with Canadian pine recovered, from crates of engines. – BAK Architects.
