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House designed at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, so the program and concept were based on what homes already experienced in the second quarter of 2020. As architects, we rethought the lifestyle that human beings led, especially, the importance that housing had in those moments of confinement.In some way, we were leaving it aside with the contemporary paradigms of the compact city, where social relations are only resolved in public spaces. These reflections motivated us to rethink ways of operating that we had established in order to generate open and ventilated work spaces, family enjoyment, quality outdoors, and spaces for the care of our elders. This home was already equipped with these conditions.

The order included a main house of 220 m², for a family made up of a couple and their two daughters, and a second home with half the area of the main house, for the grandparents; In addition, a large area of parking and warehouses. A first challenge was to resolve the two homes on a single floor, with access to outdoor areas, as well as the respective privacy of each one on a 600 m² lot. The layout of the house is a trapezoid similar to the morphology of the land. We designed a bar that occupies the entire width of the lot, in order to generate two gardens, respecting the front and rear setbacks. We take advantage of the topography and taking into account that the regulations allow lateral terraces (as long as they do not exceed 4 meters in height), its roof follows the original levels of the land, thus generating a double slope.

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On the front axis, the sidewalk level marks the midpoint between the main house and the suite. At a lower level of the street, there is the suite (with its private garden), parking and storage rooms. On the other hand, to access the main house, a staircase was proposed that resolves the project on two levels: the main house above the suite.

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In the rear axis, established by the topography, the private garden is directly accessed from the main house. From the social areas of the house, you access the private garden with pool through a large porch. The rooms also have independent access via stairs according to the slope of the land.

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The construction system is very simple: two lateral supporting concrete walls that are consolidated with a perpendicular retaining wall to resolve the change in level in the terrain, complemented by a system of metal beams and a light metal cover. This allows us to have great lights and open spaces. The front façade was worked with a handmade brick skin, which has a special lock to generate lattices and controlled openings, according to the lighting that each of the spaces found on this façade require.

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This is a very simple project that blends with the topography, appears discreetly within the urbanization and offers high quality interior spaces. Made with contemporary local materials such as concrete, brick and steel, this building reflects the integration of current living conditions, understanding the home as a protagonist within the life of the family.