chile | my design fix

Binimelis House – Polidura + Talhouk Arquitectos

May 27, 2009 at 12:00 am | Posted in architecture, houses | 2 Comments
Tags: architecture, chile, concrete, houses, stone, timber

The Binimelis House designed by Polidura + Talhouk Arquitectos is located in Colina, Chile and is situated on a triangular shaped block with a slope of 40%. The living spaces are located upstairs with the bedrooms cut into the hillside downstairs.

The house has been orientated parallel with the terrain to create a direct relationship with the landscape on both levels while also taking advantage of the northern sun and views (an ideal arrangement with street access to the upper living areas from the south). A kink in the upper volume also directs the occupant’s view toward the valley and away from a nearby quarry.

Concrete, timber and stone form the simple, yet beautiful palette of materials but it is how they are used that is most appealing to me. The lower level’s organic dry stone walls create a nice contrast with the crisp and sharp nature of the upper level’s gloss stone tiles, reinforcing the appearance that the upper level is just sitting or floating there.

The stone tile cladding on the upper floor is also interestingly detailed. Check out the section detail showing this cladding extending onto the roof and how there is no hidden box gutter – the water would just run off the edge and down the walls. The other section showing the window/door opening has a 50×50 steel angle near the roof edge. I assume this would divert the rain to either side of the opening. It would be interesting to see how this works in a heavy downpour.