Small House Bliss

Small house designs with big impact


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Casa Apolo 11, a secluded forest retreat by Parra + Edwards

small house Casa Apolo 11 by Parra + Edwards

photo by Rodrigo Avilés

This small 2-story house sits in a deciduous forest on the outskirts of Santiago, Chile. It was designed by Parra + Edwards Arquitectos. The house is a simple rectangular box given architectural interest by the patchwork pattern of alternating glass and solid wall.

Supposedly it was named for Apollo 11 because it was conceived to be “like a ship that landed in a forest without touching it at any time and will undertake its departure, leaving the forest intact.” That sounds like pure architectural hubris; no one but an architect would imagine that a house could be built in a formerly untouched forest with no impact. However with the largely transparent lower level, the more solid-walled upper level does appear from some angles to be hovering like a spaceship.

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