LOBA HOUSE | PEZO VON ELLRICHSHAUSEN
Coliumo, Chile
Description provided by the architect. Perhaps the only distinction between objects and things resides in their scale. Closer to any natural thing, in its ambiguous scale, this small building is more than a hut but less than a house: it is a cottage. As an opaque block, a monolithic object heavily anchored at the edge of a cliff, it is facing a sea-lion reserve on the Pacific Ocean.
In it’s under dimensioned thickness, in its narrow and tall proportion, the building could be read as an inhabited wall that runs perpendicular to the natural topography. The height of this wall is determined by two lines: a continuous horizon and a stepped sequence of six platforms that descend towards the sea. The separation between that horizontal roof (with the function of an open terrace) and the regular extension of the ground (with the informal arrangement of rest, dining and living), a single asymmetrical room, is interrupted by three massive columns and two bridges.
While beds are placed in the upper platforms, with a low ceiling, sofas or tables are meant to be in the lower platforms, within a vertical space.
There is a discreet regime of openings at either side of the long volume with some punctual skylights, a few half-moon perforations that could be used as sun clocks and a singular corner window divided by a round pillar. This is the only window with unframed glass flushed to the outer concrete surface. Mirroring the sunset, an almost impossible and illusory floating rock rests right on top of that reflection.
Project Details
Project name: Loba house
Location: Coliumo Peninsula, Tome, VIII Region, Chile
Client: Marcelo Sanchez, Janis Hananias
Architects: Mauricio Pezo, Sofia von Ellrichshausen
Collaborators: Diego Perez, Thomas Sommerauer, Teresa Freire, Beatrice Pedroti, Wiktor Gago
Builder: Carvajal & Cabrer
Structure: Peter Dechent
Consultants: Marcelo Valenzuela, Daniel Garrido
Plot surface: 1.000 m2
Built surface: 70 m2
Design date: 2016
Construction date: 2017
Photography: Pezo von Ellrichshausen
