Argentina. A floating summer house amid maritime pines

Far South from Buenos Aires, the Argentinian practice Besonías Almeida Arquitectos completed a summer house in Costa Esmerada private resort, a recently urbanised area on the Atlantic coast. Casa Bosque is the last of a series of houses built by the studio in the area and follows similar aesthetic-constructive principles, prioritising spatial richness and low maintenance.

The rectangular plan of the residence boldly spans the sloping terrain – that presents a height difference of two meters – and is aligned in a North-South direction. The interiors are distributed in three volumes divided by small courtyards and visually concatenated by concrete surfaces on the elevations. While East elevation overlooks the street and therefore presents controlled openings to ensure privacy to the residents, the West elevation is open towards the vegetation, consisting of an established forest of maritime pines. Casa Bosque is accessed from the centre of the floor plan, where a gentle stair leads to the bedroom area on the southern end of the building. Most of the surface of the building is dedicated to the common spaces, facing North. Concrete and glass are chosen as the two prevailing materials, while the openings are made of dark bronze anodised aluminium. Casa Bosque appears – structurally and formally – as a muscular building, where the extension of the slabs of concrete, resting on inverted beams, results into cantilevers suspended towards the slope.