Estudio Galera

Fragata House

Fragata House
© Javier Agustín Rojas

Fragata House

Estudio Galera

ARCHITECTS
Estudio Galera

LEAD ARCHITECTS
Ariel Galera, Cesar Amarante, Francisco Villamil

CONTRACTOR / BUILDERS
Bauer Hermanos

MANUFACTURERS
Sika, Acindar, Aluar, Cj Aluminio, El Holandés, Lavige, Nivel, Plastigas

PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Verónica Coleman

STRUCTURAL ENGINEER
Javier Mendía

PROJECT SUPERVISOR
Pablo Ahumada

TEXTS AND TRANSLATION
Soledad Pereyra

SANITATION / HEATING
Cristian Carrizo

CUSTOM METAL WORKING
Juan Rascione

ELECTRICITY
Gabriel Jaimón

MASONRY WORK
Hugo Marin

AREA
210 M²

YEAR
2021

LOCATION
Pinamar, Argentina

CATEGORY
Houses

Fragata House was designed in 2017 and built between that year and 2021 in Alamos neighborhood, northwest Pinamar.

Fragata House
© Javier Agustín Rojas
Fragata House
© Javier Agustín Rojas

During the pandemic, the house was the only one on the block in a neighborhood that was developing at a lethargic pace but which was shortly surrounded by several works -some even inhabited before Fragata House.

This area continues to date to be the fastest growing sector of the city, creating a constantly changing urban landscape.

Fragata House
© Javier Agustín Rojas
Fragata House
© Javier Agustín Rojas

The dwelling rests on ten points on an almost flat site of 24.50 meters wide and 41 meters long. Raising the house was the only request of the owners, who would inhabit the place permanently.

Fragata House
© Javier Agustín Rojas

Therefore, Fragata was conceived as a closed mono-volume built 4.00 meters above street level. Under the volume, the empty space was designed directly to the plot for ‘freer’ and more feasible uses outside.

Fragata House
© Javier Agustín Rojas
Fragata House
© Javier Agustín Rojas

Upstairs, a box nests all the covered activities of the house, separating the public from the private area by the staircase core. The study placed here can be reached by reversing the direction of the general circulation.

The house positioned perpendicular to the street, opens completely to the north in all its rooms offering extended views over the ground floor of the neighboring houses.

Fragata House
© Javier Agustín Rojas
Fragata House
© Javier Agustín Rojas
Fragata House
© Javier Agustín Rojas

By leaning on the opposite setback, the first construction appears 17.00 meters away. Due to its characteristics of implantation and regulatory restrictions, Fragata House will always benefit from open views of the forest in the center of the block and of the distant Alamos Boulevard. Its position in height also allows it to dominate 360-degree views.

The program was divided between uses of spaces that had to be protected from inclement weather and those that could be carried out outdoors and under the semi-cover area in mild weather.

Fragata House
© Javier Agustín Rojas
Fragata House
© Javier Agustín Rojas
Fragata House
© Javier Agustín Rojas
Fragata House
© Javier Agustín Rojas

Dividing the program this way results in an economy of square meters only feasible by elevating the house, minimizing the covered spaces below, and making the most of the square meters under the elevated box.

A simple fan is created by the materials used: concrete, aluminum, and glass on the outside to which wood is added inside.

Fragata House
© Javier Agustín Rojas
Fragata House
© Javier Agustín Rojas

A catalog of low and easy maintenance is also reflected in the landscape treatment as the plot maintains the natural and native state of the dune. The structure is partially shown in structural walls and inclined pillars.

The same scheme covers the connection of these elements under the sand and the trusses of beams over the entire surface on the ground floor.

Here, the loads coming from the roof by blunt partition walls and columns –which blend with the carpentry profiles at the front- are evenly distributed. On the roof, the beams hold slabs at different levels defining the spaces they contain.

Fragata House
© Javier Agustín Rojas
Fragata House
© Javier Agustín Rojas
Fragata House
© Javier Agustín Rojas

Freeing the zero to maximize the use of the floor by proposing activities under the structure means to understand that the space is shaped by the overhangs and the intermediate structure between the upper floor and the bases.

This generates a versatile area only defined by the function it will have (parking, playroom, gym, barbecue area). The barbecue grill, bathroom, and access to the house were the only fixed elements that help to generate a full and clear space without interruptions.

Fragata House
© Javier Agustín Rojas
Fragata House
© Javier Agustín Rojas

Open views in width and length at street level expand and mix the public space with the private one. As there are no fences or adjoining constructions to set limits, urban gestures such as street feeder pillars and vehicular footprints mark the division between the urban condition and the private one, turning the lot into an appendix of the public space.

Fragata House stands as a horizontal volume that delimits the space giving human scale and transforming itself by its imprint into part of the air.

Fragata House
© Javier Agustín Rojas


Fragata House
© Javier Agustín Rojas
Fragata House
© Javier Agustín Rojas
Fragata House
© Javier Agustín Rojas
Fragata House
© Javier Agustín Rojas
Fragata House
© Javier Agustín Rojas
Fragata House
© Javier Agustín Rojas
Fragata House
© Javier Agustín Rojas


Fragata House
Elevation
Fragata House
Elevation
Fragata House
Elevation


Fragata House
Floorplan
Fragata House
Plan
Fragata House
Axo
Fragata House
Site plan

Estudio Galera
T +54 2254 570995
Estudio Galera
B7167 Cariló, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina