PIRQUE TEXT

HOUSE IN PIRQUE Architects: : Enrique Browne Assistant Architects : Jorge Campos Enrique Merino Veronica Celedón Location : Site in Cruceral, Pirque near Maipo River Photographer : Guy Wenborne and Enrique Browne Areas : Plot area : 5.000 sq. mt. Total floor area: 122 sq. mt. Project Date : 1984

This is an economical weekend house outside Santiago. Its owners are a couple with older children who would be able to stay temporarily in the house. For the same reason, from the start there had to be sofa beds in the living room. In the future, the house should be able to expand. The plot is on a lot with tiered terraces that descend towards the canyon of the Maipo River, which runs by the north. The terrain is almost flat and the view towards the river is obtained at the beginning of the last thirty meters from its back. The owners wanted to use two thirds of the land for planting, leaving the third at the riverside for the house itself. The architects proposed a large wall which cuts the plot perpendicularly. This divides the agricultural area from the residential area. This clear delineation of zones is very common in rural areas in the central part of the country. The agricultural part would be utilized with fruit trees (planted every 6.40 meters). The access road would pass between them, in order to end in a rotunda next to the wall. The house itself is attached to the perpendicular wall and obtains the best views of the river and the mountains. It consists basically of a “parrón” of trunks, moduled at 3.20 meters (half of the distance between the fruit trees). Part of the parrón is covered. An independent line of windows delimits the interior areas. A volume of two floors crosses the parrón, dividing the living-dining room-kitchen from the office. This volume establishes a vertical counterpoint with the large wall. This volume concentrates the services areas in its first level. On the second, the main bedroom with spectacular panoramic views is found. In the future, the house would be used year-round. Given the modular system, the house can grow without altering its image. This growth could be realized by adding bedrooms towards the western side. The thermal regulation of the house was taken care of. The “parrón” is towards the north. Its vegetation would be deciduous leaves, controlling the sunlight during the different seasons of the year. The large and hermetic southern wall absorbs the heat that penetrates from the north, avoiding heat loss during the winter. By the same thermal regulation, the large windows are fixed and contain ledges of wood with insulation. The house would have walls of masonry reinforced stucco. Given the dusty environment of the land, the walls would be painted in colors. A natural overhead light would illuminate the large southern wall interiorly.