The Architecture of the Void

Larrea Duplex proposes a way of living in which the void organizes, illuminates, and enriches everyday life. The project brings together two semi-detached houses arranged around a sequence of outdoor spaces that create gradual transitions between the street, the entrance, the central courtyard, and the garden.

The project is based on a clear premise: to make the void an active architectural material. Light, air, vegetation, and views flow through the houses, expanding the interior experience and establishing a permanent relationship with the outdoors.

Central Courtyard

The central courtyard is the heart of the project. Its presence allows both houses to breathe toward a shared space of light, air, and vegetation, creating a pause within the compact dimensions of the site.

The staircases, arranged in opposite directions, bring movement and rhythm to this interior void. Their paths transform the courtyard into an active space, crossed by views, circulation, and daily life.

This intermediate space articulates the houses without dissolving their independence: it connects, filters, and preserves privacy.

Light, Air, and Time

The pursuit of natural light structures many of the project's design decisions. The voids allow sunlight to enter at different moments throughout the day, transforming the interior atmosphere and revealing the passage of time.

Air, shadows, vegetation, and variations of light introduce a sensory dimension to living. The outdoor spaces become a necessary extension of the interior, enriching domestic life and accompanying everyday activities.

Two Houses, One Shared Logic

Each unit preserves its autonomy, yet both participate in the same spatial strategy. The semi-detached condition is organized through a shared logic of entrances, courtyards, staircases, outdoor extensions, and private areas.

The façade, materiality, and system of voids establish a unified reading of the ensemble—clear, contemporary, and domestic—without losing the identity of each house.

Materiality and Boundary

The expression of the project is based on a contemporary material palette with a strong visual presence. Light-colored brick, concrete, and metal elements come together to create a clear and expressive image, where solids and voids are articulated to create depth, shadow, and privacy.

Brick provides texture and human scale; concrete conveys mass and character; metal elements create a permeable boundary toward the street. The vertical fence, the setback, and the entrance sequence shape a filtered frontage, capable of protecting intimacy without closing off the relationship with its surroundings.