Sosa House

Sosa House
© Andrés Domínguez

Sosa House 

40Sur Arquitectura

ARCHITECTS
40sur Arquitectura

LEAD ARCHITECT
Federico Guelfi

MANUFACTURERS
Propanel

CATEGORY
Houses

AREA
164 M²

YEAR
2022

LOCATION
San Martin De Los Andes, Argentina

The project was commissioned by a couple from the city of Neuquén, Argentina. They had purchased the lot a few years ago with the dream of building a house to move in and live out their retirement in the city of San Martín de los Andes, in the heart of the Andes mountain range.

Sosa House
© Andrés Domínguez
Sosa House
© Andrés Domínguez

The project was conceived with two very strong constraints. Firstly, the couple wanted a single-story house. Secondly, the sloping topography of the land.

On a 900m2 plot with a very steep slope, a 160m2 single-story house had to be designed. We started by trying the most common options, but the program didn't fit, so we finally decided to generate an elongated floor plan towards the lower part of the land.

Sosa House
© Andrés Domínguez
Sosa House
© Andrés Domínguez
Sosa House
© Andrés Domínguez

About 8m of height separates the upper part from the lower part. This floor plan is supported by reinforced concrete beams and columns.

These columns, founded on the natural terrain, would have been 5.5m high. We thought that was excessive, so we decided to add coarse quarry material until we managed to reduce this height to 3.40m.

We achieved this through the design of a gabion retaining wall. These are galvanized wire mesh baskets filled with stone, very common in the area, as they are a quick and durable solution for these works. They can be seen on the Route of the Seven Lakes.

Sosa House
© Andrés Domínguez
Sosa House
© Andrés Domínguez
Sosa House
© Andrés Domínguez

Once this was resolved, we had to find a way to let the sun in, as the land is located in the lower part of a development facing southeast, with views of the city, Lake Lacar, and Chapelco Mountain.

For this, we designed a broken roof that generates a skylight to the north, allowing us to achieve some hours of sunlight.

Sosa House
© Andrés Domínguez
Sosa House
© Andrés Domínguez

The floor plan layout, after much excavation work, allowed us to open up to the surroundings, generating the entry of sunlight and the best views of the city and the lake.

The materials chosen for the project were laminated pine wood for the structures and roofs, kiri wood for the interior cladding, lenga wood for the exterior details and deck, and black corrugated sheet metal for the exterior cladding, as they required low maintenance.

Sosa House
© Andrés Domínguez
Sosa House
© Andrés Domínguez

As for the construction system, we opted, as in the rest of our projects, for self-supporting SIP (Structural Insulated Panel) panels from Propanel, which provide not only speed but also the necessary insulation to counteract the cold winter climate.

These panels, having a polystyrene core, are very thermally efficient and, being a rigid panel with almost 3m2 of surface area, favor quick construction, reducing construction times by almost half.

Sosa House
© Andrés Domínguez


Sosa House
Ground floor plan
Sosa House
First floor plan
Sosa House
Gabions plan
Sosa House
Site plan


Sosa House
Long section
Sosa House
Cross section


Sosa House
North facade section
Sosa House
West facade
Sosa House
South facade
Sosa House
East facade