Estudio Diagonal’s latest project, a modern barnhouse titled Ridge House, is located on the outskirts of the city of Puerto Varas, in the southerly Llanquihue province of Chile’s Los Lagos Region.
A modern barnhouse with a material twist
Described by the architects as a new take on the traditional barnhouse – a typology ‘that might even be one of the most commonly applied in the south of Chile’ – the Ridge House is stripped back, agricultural and no-nonsense. Hard-wearing and abrupt, the folded, asymmetrical roof of the 120 sq m house conceals two modest bedrooms, a double-height living space and a garage, clad in translucent plastic.
Sebastián Armijo Oyarzún, one of the project architects at Estudio Diagonal, explains how the house came through post-pandemic internal migration. ‘It opened the door to working from home, so a lot of people from big cities like Santiago migrated south for a better life.’ Puerto Varas was a popular choice (‘for better or worse’), a small city of under 40,000 people with a strong Germanic tradition.
The Ridge House doesn’t follow this particular European model. Instead, the aesthetics are derived from pure function and cost-effective simplicity. Surrounded on two sides by a simple wooden deck, the entire house is raised up off the ground on steel columns.
Finishes and fixtures are sparse, almost monastic, with white walls, untreated wood and a rigorous simplicity to the rhythm and profile of the balustrades and mullions. Corrugated metal cladding swathes the barn-like structure, standing in stark contrast to the pared-back lightness of the garage and service area.
The main living space reaches up to the high point of the off-kilter roof, with a mezzanine level containing an additional living area and a bedroom/study beyond. Downstairs, tucked behind the kitchen diner, is the principal bedroom and two bathrooms.
Estudio Diagonal is based between southern Chile and Spain. The studio’s work often emphasises the quotidian and vernacular, sometimes using recycled or reclaimed materials and components.
-
The Subaru Forester is the definition of unpretentious automotive designIt’s not exactly king of the crossovers, but the Subaru Forester e-Boxer is reliable, practical and great for keeping a low profile
-
Sotheby’s is auctioning a rare Frank Lloyd Wright lamp – and it could fetch $5 millionThe architect's ‘Double-Pedestal’ lamp, which was designed for the Dana House in 1903, is hitting the auction block 13 May at Sotheby's.
-
Naoto Fukasawa sparks children’s imaginations with play sculpturesThe Japanese designer creates an intuitive series of bold play sculptures, designed to spark children’s desire to play without thinking
-
A wooden lakeside cabin in southern Chile offers a new twist on the traditional barnClad in local Coigüe timber, this lakeside cabin by Tomás Tironi and Lezaeta Lavanchy on Lake Ranco, titled Casa Puerto Nuevo, adds contemporary flair to the local vernacular
-
This new lakeside house in Chile is a tour de force of contemporary timber constructionCazú Zegers’ lakeside house Casa Pyr is inspired by the geometry of fire and flames, and nestles into its rocky site
-
Tour a Chilean pavilion perched on the coast: a sanctuary for sleep and star-gazingAlgarrobo-based architecture studio Whale! has designed a Chilean pavilion for rest and relaxation, overlooking a nature reserve on the Pacific coast
-
House in the Trees offers a bird's eye view of the Chilean forestHouse in the Trees by Max Núñez and Stefano Rolla is an angular Chilean cabin in woods, touching the ground lightly
-
Chile’s Panguipulli Theatre brings purpose-built architecture to the learning experiencePanguipulli Theatre, a community-centred cultural space in Chile's Región de los Ríos, combines purpose-built architecture and learning
-
This Chilean beach house comprises a series of pavilions set beneath a wooden roofWYND Architects has completed a Chilean beach house – a multigenerational family retreat, raised up above a site overlooking the Pacific Ocean
-
Industrialised building system prototype proposes solution for urgent housing needsWe examine an industrialized building system prototype proposal by Chilean architecture practices Ignacio Rojas Hirigoyen Architects and Cristian Dominguez Fernandez
-
Elemental House is an architectural grand prize in Mexican charity raffleElemental House in Mexico, designed by Elemental-Alejandro Aravena, is to be offered as first prize in a raffle organised by charity Sorteos Tec
