Calm-type architecture for a Córdoba residence, an extension to a private home.
The large white-framed windows offer views of the garden and the surrounding district to the young people occupying these student quarters in Córdoba designed by Carol Burton Architecture.
The Residence is located in Córdoba, Argentina, and forms part of a group of student residences by the Fundación Si in Argentina.
The requirement was to extend the building by two rooms to lodge 16 people, with new bathrooms and study areas. The project uses two existing flat roofs and is built onto the existing building, creating two independent rooms connected by a bridge over an interior area and a new roomy bathroom, both well-ventilated and luminous.
Building work had to be done rapidly, generating the least possible impact on the home, for which reason a dry building method was chosen.
The main purpose of the project was to give the students high quality lodging, offering the lowest possible visual impact within the highly populated and heterogeneous neighborhood. This is why a light and clear linear geometric design was chosen.
This consisted of angular white walls whose large windows framed the surrounding gardens. The built-up space is covered by a doubly high roof creating a roomy interior to hold 8 bunk beds with their new occupants.
So as to maximize light entry, an existing interior courtyard was used. The project included a bridge above it connecting the two rooms.
The open and independent design of both the rooms and their large windows create a gentle luminous environment for students to relax comfortably in quiet surroundings.
A bright and neutral color scheme was chosen for the interiors, and walls and ceilings were painted white, as was the lacquered furniture, while gray was chosen for the flooring.
Light entry was properly arranged, as was cross-ventilation using wind-powered extractors that permanently evacuate warm air that accumulates under the roof, this naturally compensated by the entry of fresh air through the windows strategically located on the lowest level of the area, guaranteeing its proper ventilation. This system evacuates heat, humidity, vapors, pollution and scents that accumulate within the rooms. For this reason and so as not to generate operating costs, this wind ventilation system was the best and cheapest option. It is a mechanical ventilating system, operating with exterior wind energy and through the interior-exterior temperature differential under the roof of the building.
Sheet metal netting was used on balconies to afford greater safety and privacy.
This is an Ad Honorem project for Fundación Si Argentina. All of the materials used were donated by firms and private individuals.
