Ramiro Zubeldia Architects

INSPIRATION:

"It is possible that, whether he knows it or not, every architect has always thought about the relationships between humans and nature, the purpose of the person in the world, and it is precisely in the form of the house where his idea of that is expressed."
Josep Quetglas

"The formation of soil, trees, rocks - all this will influence the shape of the house, all of which will suggest something about the design of the building. They are an important starting point for any construction. The landscape could inform the building, the building could change the landscape. "
Marcel Breuer

CONTEXT:

Forest / Density / Topography:

Punta del Diablo is a fishing resort located on the coast of Rocha, Uruguay. It has a population of roughly 1000 people, mostly fishermen and artisans. During the summer it becomes a popular tourist attraction for Uruguayans, Brazilians, Argentines and Europeans.
The houses are mostly wooden fishing ranches with quincha roofs, distributed in a “random” manner. There is no separation between different properties creating a landscape of unified independent buildings. Recently, there have been new architectural proposals that negatively affect the neighborhood by differing too much from previous designs.
The lot is located at the highest point of Playa Grande, about 500m from the beach, with a forest that dissolves into the sea as the slope descends, creating views of the horizon over the water.
The site has two distinct characteristics. The pine forest divides the land longitudinally while a small canyon divides the land transversely. This canyon is on the front of a dune that drops off 3m to the street.
The proposed building seeks to adapt to the topography, leaving a semi-buried ship intact and decreasing the visual impact of the three story building facing the street. The building´s terrace faces the interior park to reduce the building´s scale and establish more privacy.
The building opens up on the side that faces the sea, the other vertical windows face the pines in the interior park. Horizontal windows on the west façade have similar configurations to the other windows.

INVESTIGATION:
The house was designed with bioclimatic solutions as a main criteria. In the summer heat loss techniques were prioritized. In the winder, building techniques that increase heat by exposing the building to direct sunlight and insulate against heat loss were used. The house can therefore be quickly heated by a fireplace.

Wind Control (SUMMER-WINTER):
The house is built at the highest point on the land, so that in the summer the front of the house is exposed predominantly to wind from the Northeast, and in winter, the forest protects the house from Southeasterly winds.

Indoor-outdoor Spaces (SUMMER):
The main section of the house has a transitional enclosure with a pergola that casts a shadow over the walls and doors of the building.

Sun Control (SUMMER):
On the Northeast facades, pergolas that block the summer sun were proposed. The Northwest façade has a volume that acts as an eaves and casts a shadow on the wall exposed to the sun. The main windows of this section are protected by a grid of vertical windows designed in such a way that protects against the Western sun during the summer and are exposed to the sun in the winter.

Use of natural ventilation (SUMMER):
The structure of the building was planned and oriented so that it is facing the Northeast and is exposed to the Northeast winds, the predominant winds of summer. At each level, operable windows were designed to create cross ventilation, and indoor air circulation.

Heat gain from sunlight (WINTER):
The shape and orientation of the house was foreseen to reach maximum exposure to the winter sun, allowing direct heat gains.

MATERIALS:
The project adopts the building traditions of the place, and takes advantage of the materials and the technical experience of the local workforce. The building reworks the constructive elements by developing unique details that create new encounters between materials. In this way the work creates a conversation with existing design in the area, respecting it and fitting seamlessly into the neighborhood.

SYSTEM:
According to plan, the house has three separate stories with a transition between public and private rooms. In the semi-underground plan, the rooms for rent have a bathroom in the public suite. In the access module the front porch, living room, dining room, kitchen and toilette are all for common use by taking advantage of the roof. The half-buried module generates a semi-public expansion terrace and two private rooms with a bathroom for the family upstairs.
The construction uses a system of panels that make up a platform frame and eucalyptus structural beams and foundations built in the sand.
The main structure and frames were made of pine, stiffened by OSB panels, covered with Tyvek, finished on the interior, and tongue-and-groove Brazilian Grapia boards were placed vertically on the exterior surfaces, using glass wool as the main insulator.
The roof is made out of wood planking, with aluminum membranes under the deck and American tiles on the exposed deck.
The exterior wood was treated with Eco Wood treatment, a Canadian organic product that protects and preserves material in a single application, without the need for subsequent maintenance.

OVERVIEW:
The project connects to the site and community in many ways.
This building plays with the association of local images. This house is reminiscent of the fishing ship stranded in the sand in the iconic scene from the Fitzcarraldo Film.
On the first level of the house there is a main deck with a perimeter railing that has views over the landscape. The second level acts as a superstructure, the master bedroom is situated there and has a clear view of the sea.
The materials of the house mirror the wooden boats surrounding it and use local resources; the design visually connects the interior with specific natural occurrences on the site. The vertical windows have views of the pines while the large windows on the front of the house look over the sea and the horizontal windows open up to the plains in the forest. The structure of the building uses bioclimatic techniques with low environmental impact by collecting rainwater, using the wetland for sewage treatment and utilizing solar power.