A passion for the art of dwelling
I like to think of my projects as palimpsests: just like ancient parchment, they can be scraped and reused, still bearing visible traces of their earlier form. They tell a story about a past we cannot see but we may be able to imagine, a past which is unfailingly part of our present.

This was both a renovation and an extension project on an internal housing unit  located in the old area of downtown Rosario city. The house had already been updated several times in the last decades and had lost its traditional elongated layout, so commonly used in dwellings at the beginning of the 20th century. We set out to reinvent the intent of the space, which appeared to have lost its soul.
The overlapping updates on the original house consisted mostly of room extensions, probably meant to take in more people into the house. This resulted in a sequence of continuous spaces, with no hierarchy or guiding principle. Based on the poor condition of the build and the need for outdoor space, our first action was to knock down almost half the house.

The renovation and extension work was completed using reclaimed materials and supplies from junkyards, second-hand markets and even unsuspected finds. The project was conceived as a unique, one-off piece, with chance as a key element.
Moreover, the work draws from the so-called forgotten trades, reinterpreting handcrafted techniques through a contemporary lens, also highlighting handmade work with a soul. I think the project does not hold on to a long-gone past, but it recovers some of its elements; it takes advantage of whatever is at hand. I consider this an art and I believe it to be my true passion: using current dwelling concepts to give spaces new purpose and function.

These ideas are the drivers, not only of this particular project, but of my constant search for conscious modes of dwelling.
To dwell is to live. To dwell is to leave our mark in life.

Team:

Architects: Eugenia Rodriguez Hertz. (Pope Hertz) 

Collaborators: Arq. Camila Churin, Ignacio Roldán y Carmela Ritagliati

Photography: Ramiro Sosa 

Materials Used:
Mosaicos Callaci: Mosaics
Gerbell House: Furniture
Angelo iluminación: Light fixtures
De Río Cerámica: Ceramic pieces
Proyecto Pasillo Tienda: Accessories