Residential | San José | 2024 | Area: 530 m2
An essential operation defines the project
An essential operation defines the project: freeing the ground to allow space, light, and family life to organize around a central core.
Permeable Ground, Protected Living
A permeable base extends the garden and social life outward, while a contained upper volume protects the private areas. This arrangement is not a formal gesture, but a spatial logic—separating public and intimate realms without fragmenting the domestic experience, and opening the house to both sunrise and sunset.
The social area unfolds from this open center toward the rear of the site, forming a continuous double-height space connected to a hierarchical inner garden. Depth, shadow, and height regulate climate and daily rhythm, while interior and exterior remain carefully balanced, allowing the landscape to act as a constant backdrop.
A permeable base extends the garden and social life outward, while a contained upper volume protects the private areas. This arrangement is not a formal gesture, but a spatial logic—separating public and intimate realms without fragmenting the domestic experience, and opening the house to both sunrise and sunset.
The social area unfolds from this open center toward the rear of the site, forming a continuous double-height space connected to a hierarchical inner garden. Depth, shadow, and height regulate climate and daily rhythm, while interior and exterior remain carefully balanced, allowing the landscape to act as a constant backdrop.
Above, two bedroom wings—one facing the street, the other the distant hills—are linked by a bridge, creating a gradual transition from shared to private spaces. Exposed concrete provides permanence and precision through pronounced cantilevers, while wood introduces warmth and human scale. The result is a quiet, essential architecture, conceived as a sensitive framework for family life over time