LA CUMB TEXT

HOUSE IN LA CUMBRE STREET Location: La Cumbre Street, Vitacura. Santiago, Chile Architect: Enrique Browne C. Collaborators: Jorge Campos, Isabel Perelló, Ivan Hernández Plot Area : 1.184 sq. mt. Total floor area: 280 sq. mt. Date: 1989

The terrain is located in the highest zone of a subdivision on the Manquehue hill. The house required a special solution because the entrance is from below. Looking upwards, views of the summit of the hill and the northern sun are obtained; looking downwards, there are excellent panoramic views of the city, but without sunlight. The main problems, then, consisted of where to place the house and how to access it. It was decided to set the house in the middle of the site so as to obtain the double view and orientation. A roofed gallery with thermo-panes divides the terrain and the house in two halves, giving sunlight to the southern part of the house. In this part, the changing of the time of day and the climate can be appreciated. The public areas (the living room, dining room, and studies) face towards Santiago; the private areas (the bedrooms) face the summit and obtain northern sun. The entrance is designed through a pathway that reveals topographical characteristics and, simultaneously, offers diversity and surprise. From the parking area, a groove penetrates in a diagonal which, so as it maintains the same level, it actually penetrates into the earth. Formed by stone containing walls, it becomes more and more narrow and deep. Passing by a bridge that makes a threshold, a high triangular patio with a waterfall and rocks is arrived at there one sees only the sky. At the bottom, the stairs of the entrance return over themselves. Upon entering the house a white glass gallery is reached, giving a spatial experience which is very different from that of the previous rocky, shady, humid environment. The entrance intersection with the gallery gives rise to four patios. The two major patios are in a diagonal (garden-patio and bedrooms' patio) and two minor ones are also in a diagonal (patio of the study and the service patio). In order to emphasize the topography, all the roofs of the house follow an inclination continuous and parallel to the slope. Furthermore, in order to accentuate the views, the wood ceilings are convex. A wooden pergola makes a vertical counterpoint of the house. Interiorly, the parents' study is located below and the children's den above, both with views of Santiago. The plan of the house was realized in a strict geometrical layout.