Two Metallic Houses, Argentina

Ramiro Sosa

• Architects

The Two Metallic Houses are located on a corner lot of 12 x 30 meters, in a neighborhood on the eastern outskirts of the city of Rafaela, province of Santa Fe, Argentina. The corner situation is used to generate income on its longest north side, and prioritize both houses.

The proposal avoids common spaces, which meant higher construction and maintenance costs. The land was divided exactly in half, leaving the entire built and free private surface -with its own patios-, except for the obligatory North retreat that has remained as a semi-public garden.

Both houses are identical 2-bedroom duplexes (one accessible bedroom and bathroom on the ground floor and one on the ground floor). They are supported by south and west dividing walls with services, and taking advantage of the best east and north orientations for lighting, sunlight and ventilation.

Its structure is metallic and modulated, with double UPN profiles, plus square and rectangular tubes. The openings and outer shells are made of aluminum (vertical rectangular tubes placed face or edge). These main components -structure, envelopes and openings- merge into a unified and integrated expression, fulfilling multiple roles: climate control, lighting, visuals, privacy, security, with very low maintenance. Regarding the interior, the partitioning is solved with dry technologies.

They have double-height galleries facing East, operating as a transition between the interior (stay rooms where the double-height living-dining room stands out) and the exterior (expansion patios). There is a close relationship, synergy and spatial fluidity between these three categories -interior-transition-exterior-. A light patio on the upper floor accentuates this contingency and integration of free and covered spaces, with light situations and the presence of natural elements -sky, light, vegetation- that favor an atmosphere of calm. Due to its topological configuration, the proposal includes versatility of uses and flexibility to add future extensions, without corrupting its original concepts. In some of the double-height modules -living-dining room or gallery- mezzanines with dry technologies can be added very simply, within the same construction.