Los Carlos House

Los Carlos House
© Gian Paolo Minelli

Los Carlos House

Ap22.arq

ARCHITECTS
Ap22.arq

LEAD ARCHITECTS
Ariel Carlos Pradelli, Fernando Gabriel Abelleyro

COLLABORATORS
Rocco Pradelli, Nicolás Urquiza

MANUFACTURERS
Alemar Reta Materiales, Cetol, Maderera Biomol Sa, Sanitarios Lugano

AREA
94 M²

YEAR
2024

LOCATION
Reta, Argentina

CATEGORY
Houses

A beach house for a couple and their 3 teenage children to share with friends in summertime. The seaside resort of Reta is a coastal locality with a sea separated from the town by dunes that were fixed through tamarisks, cortaderas, pampas grass, cat's claws, and sectors of unfixed dunes that move from the West to the East by the action of the winds.

Los Carlos House
© Gian Paolo Minelli
Los Carlos House
© Gian Paolo Minelli

These dunes do not stop their growth in height: as a wild, hard landscape, without the intervention of the hand of man, it becomes a potential of the land. We decided to locate the house preserving nature; the decision not to alter it led us to study the gaps and the best views within the lot.

We found an area on the lot far from the only access that in turn enjoyed the best views of the place.

Los Carlos House
© Gian Paolo Minelli
Los Carlos House
© Gian Paolo Minelli

This location had, among other advantages, an orientation that protected it from the strong SW winds due to the existence of a grove of trees planted years ago by a neighbor.

These winds, which come across from the sea in winter and autumn, bring sand storms from the SW, which reinforce the need to protect the house.

Los Carlos House
© Gian Paolo Minelli
Los Carlos House
© Gian Paolo Minelli

Apart from the technical aspects and the family stories, the description of the space where these events took place was very clear. Childhood in a linear house with an expansion to a gallery full of creepers where the family used to gather.

All these conditioning factors led us to create a house with a linear party that expands to a large gallery that recalls the climate of that courtyard and is fundamental for a summer house.

Los Carlos House
© Gian Paolo Minelli
Los Carlos House
© Gian Paolo Minelli

We raised the house to make way for the sandy ground, without harming nature. The floor plan is linear, with the living-dining room and a master bedroom at the ends, both with panoramic views and in the middle of these functions we have two small rooms with a second bathroom.

Wood from reforested forests (eucalyptus) was used in practically the entire house.

The walls are composed the inside out of a 1" eucalyptus tongue and groove, a 1" by 4" structure where the thermal insulation is housed, and an exterior package with phenolic plates to support waterproof insulation with nailers that hold the insulation, to finish with another 1" x 4" tongue and groove and its more rustic face seen in the form of vertical planking.

Los Carlos House
© Gian Paolo Minelli
Los Carlos House
© Gian Paolo Minelli

La planta es lineal, en sus extremos se encuentran el estar comedor y un dormitorio principal ambos con vistas panorámicas, y en el medio de estas funciones tenemos dos pequeños cuartos con un segundo baño.

The floor is made entirely of 1 "x 4" tongue and groove as the whole house (ceiling and walls) is a polished mono-material, leaving the joint open with 3 coats of natural protectors, this floor is mounted on a structure that supports a 24 mm phenolic with 2" x 2" nailers where the thermal and waterproof insulation of the floor is housed.

Los Carlos House
© Gian Paolo Minelli

The joinery is white aluminum with double glazing and an air chamber.

Due to its distant location from the studio, the house had to be built in a short time and with a small team of local builders and carpenters from Misiones.

Los Carlos House
© Gian Paolo Minelli
Los Carlos House
© Gian Paolo Minelli


Los Carlos House
Plan - Site
Los Carlos House
Elevations, plan
Los Carlos House
Sections
Los Carlos House
Detail