A minimalist vacation house in Chile | Panorama and WMR

March 12, 2014

Chilean architects Panorama and WMR collaborated on the design of this small vacation house. Located in the coastal village of Matanzas, it has spectacular ocean views.

The 96 m² (1,033 ft²) house appears to be a basic cube, but the internal geometry is more complex than that. A terrace is cut into one corner of the lower floor, leaving an L-shaped living space. The smaller upper floor is set at a 45 degree angle, creating double height ceilings for parts of the lower floor.

Designed for a family of three, the small house has two bedrooms, one on each level. The child’s bedroom on the lower floor has sliding doors that allow it to be completely opened to the living area, which has an additional built-in sleeping platform along the back wall. The interior is finished in natural pine and white plaster. Each main room has a window wall and the minimalist design keeps the focus on the views.

Quite often when a building site has a breathtaking view, the temptation is to design a long narrow house so that all the rooms can face the one best view. But even the most amazing view can become blasé if you look at it all the time. Here the architects took a different approach, giving each room its own distinct view. The main living area faces the water directly, its window wall framing a view of the ocean and a small island. The terrace and master bedroom have ocean views too, but theirs are along the coast, centered on a beach. The terrace has a wall that, in addition to serving as a wind break, blocks out the island. The living area likewise has no windows on the side that would allow a view of the beach. The second bedroom has yet another view, looking out into a grove of trees.