避难所住宅丨玻利维亚圣克鲁斯丨DB Estudio de Arquitectura

Architects:DB Estudio de Arquitectura

Area:3843ft²

Year:2025

Photographs:Paul Renaud

Manufacturers:Hansgrohe,Cortizo,Docol,Knauf,MARAZZI,Portobello,Total Conforto

Lead Architects:Daniela Bejarano, Gian Maximiliano Parada Mendez, María José Soliz Sahonero, Diego Vaca Rodas

Category:Houses

Plumbing:Dino E. Galean Mendoza

Electric:Fanor Escobar Eguez

Structure:Oscar rivero Z

Air Conditioning:Confort

Carpentry:Cortizo

Locksmith:Alsevic

Flooring And Wall Coverings:Tumpar

City:Santa Cruz de la Sierra

Country:Bolivia

Text description provided by the architects. The project is a single-family home that presents itself to the street as a pure, compact volume, appearing from the front as a sealed cube that reinforces the privacy and monolithic character of the structure. Part of this volume extends outward to highlight the main entrance, creating a clear, controlled gesture that signals the way in. This extrusion is distinguished materially by white walls, in contrast to the rest of the house, which is constructed entirely of exposed concrete, reinforcing the interplay of solids and voids and the volumetric hierarchy.

Casa Refugio is situated on a corner lot, creating an L-shaped floor plan that rests on the party walls, freeing up the interior of the lot as a large garden. This green space, home to large existing trees, becomes the house’s main façade and the project’s landscape anchor. Consistent with the façade on the shorter side, the only completely solid wall is the one facing the street, while the other façades feature large glazed surfaces, allowing a direct connection to the garden.

The layout is organized in a clear and efficient manner. The ground floor houses the social and service areas, conceived as a large, fluid, and continuous space where partitions disappear and are replaced by visually permeable, custom-designed furniture intended to house the owner’s collection of objects and works of art. This strategy reinforces the sense of spaciousness, flexibility, and spatial continuity.

The upper floor houses the private areas, consisting of two junior suites and a master suite, all offering stunning views of the garden, ensuring privacy, natural light, and a constant connection to the landscape. The roof incorporates photovoltaic panels that contribute to the home’s energy efficiency, complementing the project’s passive design strategy. Additionally, the design seeks to harness sunlight to accentuate spaces through skylights in selected areas.

If there is one concept that defines this house, it is fluidity—spatial, visual, and programmatic—where the architecture is built upon continuity, honest materiality, and the careful interplay between solid and void, climate, and nature.

Project gallery