The design team was tasked with expanding a residence located in a gated community situated within the protected ecological area of Leloir Park, in the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina. This location is characterized by having a large variety of century-old trees.
To carry out the expansion, a pavilion was conceived that integrates with the existing house without causing any modification to it. The objective of this new space was to provide areas dedicated both to work and leisure.
The approach adopted by the project was well defined: instead of attaching directly to the original structure, the decision was made to insert the new volume into the built fabric. This insertion created a unique architectural element that connects the front and back of the residence.
The project team described Casa de los Patios as a residence that does not interfere with the surrounding landscape but rather integrates it. The concept is based on a series of low volumes arranged across the terrain, creating an environment that fosters tranquility and connection with natural elements.
The lot, which has a fan shape, is located in Estancias del Pilar. It is situated in a vast area of old countryside, offering wide views of the golf course on its largest side, as well as a lagoon in the background and a public park positioned in the front. The terrain is characterized by being flat but featuring gentle hills, described as generous and vibrant, possessing its own essence and rhythm.
The clients presented the challenge of creating a unique design for this land, capable of maximizing its visual potential. The starting point of the project was the clients' appreciation and history with the field and nature, ensuring that all decisions were made in harmony with the search for an atmosphere of serenity. The primary intention was to conceive a home that belonged to the place without overpowering it, considering the existing topography, established trees, and the human scale of the rural environment.
The challenge went beyond the technical aspect, becoming sensory: how to build a high-quality refuge without isolating the outside world? The solution found was dispersion. Instead of concentrating all functions in a single block, the house unfolds into low modules that spread across the terrain and are interconnected by walkways. Courtyards were inserted among these volumes.
The courtyards play a central role in the project, functioning as the core of the residence. They establish a path leading from the exterior to the most private spaces of the house, gradually modulating the transition between public and intimate, between exposed and protected. Each courtyard has a specific function, and each tree contributes a distinct color, resulting in a fusion between the construction and the landscape.
The distribution of areas follows the function. From the street, one accesses a connection space that leads to the more open social area, such as the gourmet space equipped with a barbecue. This space connects to the upper floor, where leisure and playful activities are located, such as the studio and the game room. Through a large walkway, the flow directs towards the private and daily use social area of the family, including the kitchen, living room, and dining room. Following another walkway and passing through another courtyard, one reaches the children's bedroom section. Finally, a walkway culminates in the master suite hall, where all rooms are designed with a focus on cross-ventilation, natural light, and beautiful views.
The chosen materials carry a particular memory. On the exterior, wood was subjected to a Japanese artisanal treatment known as shou sugi ban, after being burned, to achieve the ideal tone and texture that increases its durability and comfort without losing its organic nature. Inside, American oak underwent several tests to achieve the desired shine, warmth, and tone.
The boundaries between the interior and exterior are dissolved: external walls continue inside, and internal finishes extend and transform into furniture, allowing a single element to resolve all functional needs. The text concludes that the experience provided by the house is the expansion of the temporal sensation in nature, inspiring calm and connection. Light does not just illuminate; it reveals, and the work invites the inhabitant to be part of it, returning to those who live in it the experience of belonging to the place.
The project team described the Casa Leloir building, located in Parque Leloir, a residential area situated in the western part of the Buenos Aires metropolitan region. This enclave is notable for its dense vegetation, curved streets, and low urban concentration.
Unlike the surrounding environment, the lot had little pre-existing flora. This characteristic influenced the design, directing it towards an open architecture conceived in intimate connection with a landscape proposal aimed at complementing and elevating the overall quality of the complex.
Exposed concrete was chosen as the main material, providing a formal synthesis that allows for large spans without the need for intermediate supports. This structural decision reflects both an approach of constructive honesty and the guarantee of uninterrupted visual fluidity. By adopting this singular materiality, concrete functions as a subtle frame for the landscape, highlighting nature and softening the boundaries between the built space and the outdoors.
The project's challenge was to create a home suitable for the intense social life of a family with three teenage children while simultaneously maintaining the autonomy of each member. Therefore, the house develops mainly on the ground floor, ensuring that all spaces have direct contact with the gardens. The functional program is divided into two wings that enclose the land, separating the social area from the private sector of the children through the use of level changes and green patios.
The entrance is accessed through the narrowest section of the property, via an access portal. A light concrete structure demarcates the parking area and signals where the path bifurcates: one side offers a pedestrian path that crosses the gardens and a reflecting pool toward the main entrance; the other side features a vehicular ramp leading to the service access.
The main entrance, highlighted by a pergola and a garden, leads to the residence's social area. The living room maintains a direct connection with the front gardens through a concrete pergola that moderates natural light, while, in the opposite direction, it opens onto a gallery facing the pool and the planned landscape. To the left, there is the staircase to the upper floor and the wing dedicated to the children, composed of three bedrooms, each with its own bathroom.
On the opposite side, a three-step slope offers an elevated view of the pool and the terrain, marking the passage to the rest of the program. In this section are located the office, the main dining room, which has its own extension, and the kitchen, equipped with an integrated counter and direct connection to the service access. The kitchen also connects physically to the barbecue area through a continuous succession of pergolas that organize the outdoor spaces.
This system of paths culminates at the access to the master suite. Located on the upper floor as an independent prism, it constitutes a volume with an entirely glazed facade, protected from external views by an elevated garden that acts as a visual barrier. In contrast, the west facade is treated as a closed surface, thermally insulated and clad in wood, reinforcing the reserved and contemplative character of this environment.
In this project, architecture and landscape are conceived as inseparable elements of a single design. The residence is not seen as an isolated object but rather as a system of interconnections where vegetation transcends ornamental function to assume a structuring role in creating the residential atmosphere. The pergolas, suspended gardens, and reflecting pools interact with the concrete materiality, allowing the architecture to achieve its full meaning only through its close relationship with the designed landscape.
