A project in Torres del Paine that didn't come to fruition led architects Mirene Elton and Mauricio Léniz to make multiple trips to Patagonia and to deeply study its landscape and climate. So when they faced the challenge of designing a ranch at the foot of the Leones River in 2016, a place almost lost in the heart of the Aysén Region, they were a step ahead: they knew that the wind, an undeniable and absolute protagonist in both winter and summer, has always defined the way of building in the lands at the end of the world.
The Santiago-based office Elton Léniz, with 28 years of acclaimed and award-winning experience, has worked outside the capital on numerous occasions. "We have built in all regions, and every time we do, we first study the local techniques. In this case, the research was oriented towards the most archetypal concept of a ranch: a place of refuge that refers to a set of construction units, both for dwelling and storage," says Mirene Elton.
Their analysis led to conclusions that are not necessarily evident from distant Santiago, such as the fact that a ranch in Patagonia does not have a terrace; instead, the only outdoor space is a large hearth that is always simultaneously a semi-indoor space. They also found that in Aysén, a ranch should be constructed with wood, with board-on-board cladding and a batten on top, precisely as a method of wind protection. Furthermore, they noted that barns are airtight, with very clean and pure volumes, and that the windows in houses are seldom opened, and the original ranches, in fact, hardly had any.
