House in Morrillos

Chilean architect Cristián Izquierdo realised a wooden vacation house whose rooms are private spaces connected to the outside by a row of portals framing the horizon.

This project is by a long, open beach, on a desert dune rising in front of a wetland. It is a seasonal house to accommodate up to three couples, and can be leased or bartered the rest of the year. Its intermittent occupation and isolated location led us to think of it as a superposition of two models: the motel and the cabin.

The motel suggests self-sufficient rooms served from the outside by a second access, while the cabin presumes a centralized space that brings the community together. A set of 4 rooms come together in a shared central kitchen, forming a larger compact structure enclosed by mobile panels, which open different possibilities of use according to their position.

Each room consists of an interior space connected to an equivalent-sized courtyard, both covered by a common beamed ceiling, with two sides open to the outside and a wall separating them from the adjoining unit. These four structures are placed together in a perpendicular axis from one another, conforming a cross plan over a squared base.

The construction is entirely conceived in pinewood with glued joints managed without metal pieces exposed to the sea oxide. The beamed ceiling is developed in four separate rectangular structures, settled over the walls and a perimeter porch avoiding diagonal main beams. Outside these rows of pillars, 72 wooden doors enclose the house. When opened outward, each room-courtyard is a private space connected to the outside by a row of portals framing the horizon.