丨阿根廷拉普拉塔

Architects:Juliana Mondinalli, Franco Palacios Beltran

Area:64m²

Year:2022

Photographs:Luis Barandiaran

Category:Houses

Architects In Charge:Juliana Mondinalli, Franco Palacios Beltran

Engineering And Consulting > Civil:Lucas Gonzales

General Construction:Elias Borja (EN OBRA CONSTRUCTORA)

Landscape Architecture:Flux Estudio

City:La Plata

Country:Argentina

"Houses dream that are boats when at night there is wind, darkness, and rain." Silvina Ocampo, Nocturno

Casa Ona arises from deeply everyday desires: listening to the rain on the metal roof, drinking mate under the porch, seeing the moon from a window, watching the sidewalk from the kitchen, contemplating the patio from the shower. It also comes from practical decisions: intervening as little as possible with the ground, building quickly, and using unconventional materials.

Designing one’s own home is always a challenge. This project took shape from experiences, memories, and travels. The result is a refuge where rain and water are not only perceived but celebrated. The home is located in Villa Garibaldi, on the floodplain of the El Pescado Stream, the only unpolluted watercourse in the region. This area is not only key for drainage and air quality but is also the last frontier of the great megalopolis that extends to Rosario.

The design incorporates an essential architectural element of the regional landscape found in both ranches and old "chorizo" houses: the porch. It shelters us from intense rains and the scorching northwest sun in summer. It extends in a "C" shape, protecting the sides most exposed to the weather. The northeast porch opens to the wild garden and offers a transitional space between inside and outside.

The house reinterprets rural typology with an asymmetrical gabled roof: one side extends to form the porch, while the other rises to create a mezzanine. Externally austere, it is bright, warm, and flexible inside. In 64 m² of covered space, it is organized with a kitchen and bathroom to the southeast. A theater curtain allows for opening and closing the space according to the scene's needs.

The structure was made from red eucalyptus, with interior finishes in the same material's phenolic. To minimize environmental impact, the house rests on concrete pilings, raised 50 cm above ground level, preserving the ecosystem.

A large part of the pre-existing vegetation was maintained: bulrushes, grasses, and a black acacia. With the work of Flux Estudio, the tree structure was traced with pathways and areas that enhance the landscape and the experience of living there.

The construction was completed in just three months with local labor, which allowed for optimizing time and resources and strengthening the bond with the community. The house is named Ona, after our feline companion, who claimed both the empty spaces and the heights.

The metal, with its memory of humility and immigrant origins, takes on new meaning. With heavy rain, the house becomes a raft and recalls the riverside homes of the delta of Berisso and Ensenada. Living with water, the landscape, and the everyday is, for us, a contemporary way of making architecture.

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