Pueyrredón reform
Spatial indeterminacy
There has not always been a desire to create different atmospheres in one place. In fact, a good part of architecture has been oriented towards the specialization of spaces, thought in function of particular and exclusive activities. The debate about spatial flexibility has been endless, but nonetheless the general perception is always reduced to understanding that the larger and more empty a space is, the greater is its adaptability.
The design approach for the renovation of this house was based in the accommodation of a greatly increased social space without reducing private functions. The strategic removal of existing walls creates a unique and continuous space that is ideal for the development of public activities.
The first series of interventions are all subtractions: first, the removal of the ceiling of what was previously the dining room, thus enlarging the patio, allowing more natural light; secondly, the replacement of some existing blind walls for large glass openings, causing that when they are open the outer space is literally coupled with the interior. As a final intervention, a volume is added which is accessed through two elements, ladder and bridge, giving the possibility of traversing and perceiving the space from different heights.
This new design allows the inhabitants to reinterpret the house instantly as a single open space. What was once a rather dark and confined place becomes a long and very luminous room, connected to the sky.
What follows is a series of objects, furniture and equipment. Although essential for living, they do not prescribe the use of space, which is taken to the extreme even in the design of kitchen furniture, resulting in a free architecture, open and malleable.
The final house paradoxically reduces the total amount of square meters, but increases its spatial indeterminacy, resulting in greater use of space.