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Archello Awards 2026 · Enter your projects before 30 September 2026
MM House, Rupanco
Nico Saieh

A house on a slope and among trees.

Applied products
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The site is located on the northern shore of a lake in southern Chile and goes from steep hills to the shore of the lake with a significant slope, with the presence of several native trees.

photo_credit Nico Saieh
Nico Saieh
photo_credit Nico Saieh
Nico Saieh
photo_credit Nico Saieh
Nico Saieh

The assignment started from the point that no trees could be touched and that the house had to be built between them, combining at the same time the view of the volcanoes, the lake and the vegetation.

photo_credit Nico Saieh
Nico Saieh
photo_credit Nico Saieh
Nico Saieh
photo_credit Nico Saieh
Nico Saieh

The biggest challenge was, once the position and the trees around which it would be placed were chosen, how to overcome the slope that reaches almost 45 degrees. For this it was decided to found half of the house on the land and the other half on stilts.
The project is organized, then, as two bars of parallel rooms, which are located in the direction of the slope at different levels, housing the master bedroom and a living room in the upper bar, and the children's bedrooms in the lower bar. Both bars are crossed and connected by the volume of the common spaces, with greater amplitude, which houses the access (chiflonera), kitchen, dining room, living room and terrace.

photo_credit Nico Saieh
Nico Saieh
photo_credit Nico Saieh
Nico Saieh
photo_credit Nico Saieh
Nico Saieh

Because the area where the project is located receives a large amount of rain during the year, simple volume work is proposed to avoid water problems. In this way, the roof over the lower bedroom volume is used as a covered terrace.

photo_credit Nico Saieh
Nico Saieh
photo_credit Nico Saieh
Nico Saieh
photo_credit Nico Saieh
Nico Saieh

The entire house is covered on the outside with demolition larch shingles; a wood that does not need maintenance and is ideal for rainy environments. The interior was based on local pine siding.

photo_credit Benjamín Goñi Arquitectos
Benjamín Goñi Arquitectos
photo_credit Benjamín Goñi Arquitectos
Benjamín Goñi Arquitectos
photo_credit Benjamín Goñi Arquitectos
Benjamín Goñi Arquitectos

Project credits

Product spec sheet

Manufacturers
Window frames
domotic switches
KNX F10 by Jung HQ
Metalic roof
PV4 by Cintac
metálica courtains
Lamps

Project data

Project Year
2023
Primary Building Material
Wood
Building Area
430 m2
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