Project Name: Gallareta House
Architecture: OJA (Organic and Joyful Architecture)
Lead Architects: Arq. Ayelen Olivieri, Arq. Juan Segundo Diaz Dopazo
Interior Design: Maria Cecilia Pombo
Location: Villa La Angostura, Argentina
Area: 250 m²
Year: 2023
Photo Credits: Juan Segundo Diaz Dopazo
I grew up in Patagonia, and then I studied in Buenos Aires where I met Aye. I always knew that I was going to go back to the south somehow, it really is a special place in the world with unspoiled landscapes that you don’t see anywhere else; What I never imagined is that we would have the opportunity to design some houses for my parents, in the middle of an Arrayanes forest.
The challenge was to build a boutique-scale tourist complex (250m2), in a native forest of Coihues and Arrayanes, with a steep slope, views, and on the shores of Lake Correntoso, an extremely natural and quiet space.
We propose modules of “landscape cabins” for two and three people, which make up one more element in the forest. Melting into it, with a controlled randomness, sharing the same language, but with small differences between them.
They found their place where there was no arboreal vegetation, in those vacant spaces. From there, our main objective: An architecture that coexists with the forest, without the need to cut it down. We achieve a spatiality that attracts, that captivates, that melts the limits between the interior and the native forest; in a few square meters.
Each cabin, then, forms a monospace, separated into half floors with large strategic windows that expand the space to the outside, taking advantage of the low and leafy crown of the Myrtles not only to make the user feel as part of the forest but also to generate privacy between the volumes and common spaces of the complex.
The bathing and sanitary premises are spacious and comfortable. The largest house features a freestanding tub with views; to enjoy a hot immersion bath while we see how it snows through the window. We knew that the materialization of the project was going to be quite a display: The narrow terrain, with a slope and many trees to overcome. We opted to build dry on reinforced concrete foundations, which required calculated and fine logistics.
On the outside, its rocky morphology is covered with the ancient Japanese technique “Shou Sugi Ban”, which consists of burning the first layer of wooden planks (in this case eucalyptus) to achieve a unique texture and particularities with respect to resistance. to water, fire retardant capacity, sustainability and low maintenance and being black, present a background so that the green of the trees and white of the snow stand out; combined to a lesser extent with Lapacho wood (cinnamon-colored hardwood, like the Arrayanes), glass, black zinguería and exposed concrete.
Inside, a single-material coating of Guatambú was used, a light wood without knots that contrasts perfectly with the exterior, and gives a feeling of spaciousness. A noble material in slabs, aesthetic and quick to place due to its large size, which also speeded up the construction processes. All the interior furniture is made of the same wood, generating a clean, monolithic, and very simple appearance; that virtualizes the limits between the furniture and the wall.
