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2016 MCHAP

El Mangaleta Weekend Houses for Rent

Marco Rampulla

Icho Cruz, Argentina

February 2014

PRIMARY AUTHOR

Marco Rampulla Arquitecto

CONTRIBUTING AUTHOR

MLM Arquitectos (Estructural Colaborators)

CLIENT

Eduardo Ciaffoni

PHOTOGRAPHER

Lucas Carranza Arquitecto

OBJECTIVE

With a request for weekend housing, we tried to transform the traditional concept of formal style in only one experience, focusing on the profound relationship of the visitor with the landscape, the perfect partner, and on a lifestyle that escapes our daily routine. Thus, emerges a conception of the three units as emerging "rocks", natural features of the landscape: "wilderness and rocks". This analogy determines the use of traditional technology, massive and in communication with the earth, with masonry of concrete blocks and alleviated concrete slab. Only one material for cladding was used: handmade brick. Brick, rooted in the old architecture of Argentina, allows for the necessary insulation and respects the relationship with the land and the scenery while responding effectively to the natural conditions of the project: low budget and limited timeframe. In the interior, the materials are exposed, polished and protected to assure good hygiene and living standards. The existing regulations in the area allowed for residences of at least 65m2 and required gable roofs. The client required that every residence hold four individuals, a spacious chamber or sitting room that includes a grill, crucial element for the local culture. To adapt the project to these requirements, the final decision leads to a closed perimeter in the form of a "U", which neutralizes the unwanted context and makes up, together with the cover, a unique and idealized blanket absorbing the mountain landscape. In the interior, the restroom stands in the way to create the privacy of the bedroom.

CONTEXT

Villa de Icho Cruz is a small town located in the PunillaValley ,one of the touristic hot spots of Córdoba, and is rich in rivers, mountains and a unique landscape. The immediate context of the area, with its irregular geometry, cannot evade the logic of the town: low density and authorless architecture are some of its features. Towards the West, a public access road embodies the greatest height; on the Southern side, a complex with three bungalows, insolent in style and confined to their own fortress; on the northern side, a holiday detached house. Towards the East, however, there are no neighbors, only the slope which uncovers the immensity of the valley and the mountains. The strong geographic conditions took priority over any reference made to the weakness of the existing architecture, forcing a straightforward discussion with the topography and the extended panorama.

PERFORMANCE

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