El Chajá
On the land to be intervened, located near the Laguna del Sauce, Maldonado, there was an abandoned construction that was previously used for the storage of forage and field tools. The construction had been executed in traditional construction and although it was in disuse, a large part of its structure was in a good state of conservation. The client, who was based in France, called us to carry out an intervention that would transform this construction into his second residence, which would be used in those moments when they visited Uruguay.
The commission consisted of converting it into a house-refuge without increasing its volume or modifying the main structure. At the same time, it had to allow it to be used during short or long stays indistinctly, which implied a programmatic expansion that could guarantee the habitability that the owners wanted.
We decided to maintain the shape and layout of the roof to rescue a certain identity present in the landscape. In turn, to meet the programmatic requirements, we proposed to execute a wooden exterior membrane, light and easy to assemble that would cover the pre-existences and amplify the use with new annex programs located in the interstitial spaces between the new and old construction. From these programmatic bubbles, the interior space was freed, acquiring a feeling of greater spaciousness with clean and full surfaces.
The interior distribution is articulated from an equipped wall containing the kitchen, pantry and the desk that would provide the flexibility to operate in a home office format. On a mezzanine above the dining room was located the resting area with the bed and closet spaces. Finally, it was decided that the access to the services would be outside in an attempt to put in value the Uruguayan rural identity by rescuing in this contemporary piece the old typical functioning of the country houses of our country.
The edited landscape
The client, who is a landscape designer, had a strong vision for the connection between the house and the surrounding terrain. The design is based on minimal intervention, preserving the local vegetation called "Chircal", also frequently referred to as dirty field. This type of vegetation tends to be removed or converted into productive land, however in this design the "Chircal" is positioned as the dominant element. A series of winding paths inspired by animal tracks provide the structure and contrast to give legibility to this edited landscape. The ecological, ornamental and low maintenance advantages of this approach are many, and a great way to revalue the identity and character of our local landscape
