Beam House
BEAM HOUSE
Urzúa Soler Arquitectos
ARCHITECTS
Urzúa Soler Arquitectos
MECHANICAL SYSTEM
Timber Ingenieria
CONSTRUCTION
Constructora Urzúa Soler
ARCHITECTS IN CHARGE
Nicolas Urzúa, Mauricio Urzúa
MANUFACTURERS
Arauco, Melón Hormigones, Timber Ingenieria
PROGRAM
Private House
PHOTOGRAPHS
Nico Saieh
AREA
240 m²
YEAR
2022
LOCATION
Curicó, Chile
CATEGORY
Houses
English description provided by the architects.
The project is for a single-family home located on a rural plantation in Chile's central valley.
It was designed as a primary residence that had to have (as requested) the characteristics of a vacation retreat, as well as being configured with an efficient, economical, and quick-to-build system.
In this way, the work is configured as a modular and incremental project developed with a system of laminated wood beams and pillars, which are arranged at intervals of 1.75 meters and installed using a method of wood-to-wood joints and machined hardware.
Its structure seeks to be expressive and clearly convey the overall spatial configuration of this pavilion, without hiding its serial composition, which determines its overall length.
Its structural pieces were designed to be prefabricated and sent to the construction site already dimensioned (with their grooves and joints cut into the same piece of wood).
This building acts as a programmatic bar that accommodates family uses along its length, leaving different volumes at the rear that house the services and storage room, while the collective and bedroom areas are open to view.
The house's mandatory orientation towards the sun led to the development of its main eave, which is 350 cm long.
This protects it from direct sunlight in the summer months, while in winter its inclination allows light to enter through the front, bathing all the common and private spaces and protecting its extensive terrace.
In terms of layout, the house consists of a public area with an open-plan living-dining room and kitchen, all in a single space that opens directly onto the outdoor living area.
This public area separates the two wings of bedrooms at either end, thus achieving independence in their use.
