Casa entre dos ríos

You arrive by going down a hill between two rivers. Three walls cut across it; one greets you. Two more conceal the layout: one houses the living room, dining room, kitchen, and social spaces; the other, further down, contains the bedrooms and patios, and through the windows, the forest seems to loom over you.

The house is situated in a clearing on a wooded hill. The public bar is positioned perpendicular to the ridge; a five-meter-high retaining wall cuts across the terrain, its presence hinted at from above by a half-wall. The lounge opens to the west, with folding red cedar windows left open all day. The lap pool is further down the hill, hidden behind bushes. The kitchen is tucked underground.

The private bar is two meters lower on the south slope. Its retaining wall extends two meters further. Seen from above, the half-wall remains. The rooms face south and are separated from the hill by a passageway illuminated by small landscaped patios. The rooms are made of concrete blocks with a very thin plaster finish; when the air is humid, the joints are visible.

The two bars are connected by a trapezoidal stairwell; their geometry allows for the house's layout. One above the other; one is a cave, the other open-air.

The large retaining walls act as thermal regulators for the house. When the mountain sun sets and the cold night arrives, the concrete keeps the house warm without a chimney or heating. The house receives its water from a nearby spring and is off-grid, powered by solar panels and a battery.