2014 MCHAP.emerge
Block House
Arq. Marcelo Gualano/Arq. Martin Gualano
La Pedrera, Uruguay
January 2011
PRIMARY AUTHOR
Gualano + Gualano : arquitectos
CONTRIBUTING AUTHOR
Gualano + Gualano : arquitectos (Architects)
CLIENT
Flia. Gualano - Carvidón
PHOTOGRAPHER
Elías Martínez
OBJECTIVE
Two bedrooms, bathroom, and kitchen, an interior space (dining – living room), an exterior space (deck – barbecue). A sequence of programmatic bands. Simple spaces, that are defined programatically and geometrically. Interior area: 64m2 Exterior area: 32m2 The house defines a boundary, an edge of blocks, solid and hollow, which incorporate into their perimeter the exterior barbecue-deck space. In this way, the house is defined as a single piece, abstract, which contains its program “inside”. Outside, the house is connected, but it does not colonize. Only a low wall defines the vehicular and pedestrian entrance, which takes advantage of the shade of tall, slender eucalyptus. In sum, a white piece that fits between the thin trunks. Creating a space for itself.
CONTEXT
A seasonal dwelling in La Pedrera, a resort on the Atlantic coast 220 km from Montevideo, in the department of Rocha. An affordable, easy, and concrete house. An area of 12 x 36 m, amid a young eucalyptus forest, within the urban layout of the beach resort. A flat terrain, a few blocks away from the sea.
PERFORMANCE
This project was done with a remote team of workers, therefore systematizing construction, facilitating mounting, and solving simple details, was part of how to approach this project. Hence it was decided to use the block of concrete as “unique” material incorporating different sizes and formats.