HOUSE H6
Sited on the natural slope of a sand dune facing northwest, Casa H6 is developed with minimal intervention to the original relief, creating a natural terracing that allows for a respectful integration with the coastal environment. This strategic layout—the project's primary design driver—enables the rear facade to open toward the optimal orientation, utilizing semi-covered spaces to control solar incidence and ensure cool environments in summer and warmth during winter. Shunning obvious aesthetics, the work is born from a synthesis between the terrain and thermodynamic efficiency, where the architecture adapts to the dune, using it as protection against the site's specific climatic conditions.
To understand the functional and programmatic development of the house, one must observe the "inverted plan" logic in relation to the section: the entrance is located at street level—the upper floor—crossing the public areas with expansions and views before descending to the bedrooms. These private quarters are situated on the lower level, fully contained by the surrounding terrain to take advantage of the dune's thermal inertia. Meanwhile, the upper level features a 30 cm air cavity provided by the suspended ceiling, facilitating a regulated climate without significant energy expenditure. A double-height central courtyard links all three levels, functioning as a lung of air and light that passively regulates the home's internal climate.
The structural conception and construction typology of the H6 respond strictly to its site conditions. In the absence of trees to provide natural shade, the project assumes the need to robustly reinforce its envelope to withstand permanent contact with the ground and the elements. Consequently, the thicknesses and materiality differ from other studio projects: 40 cm walls and a green roof were chosen to act as sacrificial and insulating layers, while restoring the square footage of pre-existing native vegetation. This technical sincerity is completed by the use of common brick with flush joints, implementing a construction technique widely known by local labor, which the studio set out to investigate in this project as a tool for both architectural language and climatic response.
Casa H6 is ultimately consolidated as an exercise in material honesty, where architecture does not attempt to dominate the landscape, but rather to belong to it. By understanding the rigors of climate and topography, the work sheds unnecessary ornament to entrust its language to mass, shadow, and soil—resulting in a piece where every technical decision is, ultimately, an ethical response to the territory.
